Poison
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: The only thing about him I was really sure of was his name. That and he's a vampire. But I could never bring myself to fear him. Why? Because I'd already given him my heart... Jaspard, SLASH, FEMSLASH
1. Preface

**A/N:** Sorry about the extremely long wait for this. Been busy, had details to work out and I'm putting off on doing my Spanish project get this done; and I'm putting off working on my study guide for _Romeo and Juliet_ to do this as well. But anyways, I'll get this out first before I even go near the first chapter. Please tell me what you think.**  
Words: **139 words

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**Preface**

They say that when you're about to die, your entire life flashes before your eyes. That is a downright lie. I was looking my death right in the eyes, and all I could think of was _I'm sorry_. I couldn't even bring myself to be afraid; all that was there was this cold realization and acceptance.

I had accepted my own death in the inevitability of it. There was no avoiding it; I had no one who would come and save me. I was going to die right now.

But even as my killer smiled at me and slowly approached me, I couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, that my angel would come and rescue me. It was an impossibility, he couldn't reach me in time. I was going to die.

I closed my eyes and waited.

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There's the preface for you, please leave me a review and tell me what you think.

Twilight.


	2. Chapter 1: Exile

**Notes:** I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with the preface; I was writing it at an extremely late hour of the night, and I'm writing this chapter at an early hour of the morning... I'm such an idiot... oh well, here's the first chapter. Dang, I forgot the disclaimer too... dang, I'm really out of it.

Gah, why are the stupid education systems so different? Forgive any inaccuracies, I'm only a pitiful grade ten student who lives in Canada. I don't know anything really about the American education system; like how when Bella said 'Biology II', here it would be Biology 20. Eh, I'll talk more about it later.

I think I made Jasper a little like myself. Well, just in habit and interest wise. I'm back into Bleach, and it's affecting my writing. Ne, anyone know where I can find some good ByaRen?  
**Words:** 6 017 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I don't own the song that plays during the car ride either; it's by Nightwish.

**Chapter 1: Exile**

There's not much of a difference I guess between the town of Forks and my home of Vancouver. Both are pretty rainy places; only it rains a lot more in Forks. Oh, and it's much colder there then here too; Vancouver's a rather warm city. And that's what I liked about it.

But then, Vancouver had been my home since I was only a few months old when my parents' divorce was finalized and I moved here with my father Carlisle. Even then, I still had had to go back to Forks every summer until I was old enough to realize that I could just put my foot down and insist on going somewhere else instead of Forks. Instead, Esme and I went to Florida, or maybe Arizona; somewhere warm and with lots of sun. It's nice to take a break from the rain sometimes, even though I can't tan.

Not that I don't mind the rain, in fact, I actually really love it. See, it gives me an excuse as to why I'm so pale. Honestly it's weird that I am, if you look at my parents, you'd never think that I was related to them. I'm ivory pale. It makes me look strange with my blond hair. It's not a bleach blond; it's more of a gold-brown, but it still looks a little off. I look too fragile; even with my height and slightly muscular build; I look delicate. It's not even funny.

"You know, there's still time to change your mind Jasper," Carlisle told me, for about the thousandth time since I'd announced my decision. "You don't have to do this."

I shook my head; I wasn't changing my mind anytime soon. See, Carlisle had started dating again; and I can't stand some of the women who he's brought home. They see me as a burden or that I'm a rebellious teenager. I'd elected to go back to Forks to bolster Carlisle's love life. He'd be looked after; he'd be fine without me.

"No. I **_want_** to do this."

Carlisle sighed and ruffled my hair. I smiled, now a little more hesitant to go. I'd miss the solitude that living with Carlisle afforded me; and I'd miss the big city feel. Living in Forks was going to be hell.

Giving me one last hug, Carlisle ushered me out of the car and unloaded my luggage from the back. There wasn't much. We'd shipped two boxes of my stuff to Esme a few weeks earlier, so I didn't have all that much else to bring. I had one large rolling suitcase; my carry on was my backpack and a parka.

It's a long flight from Vancouver to Seattle, then another hour in a small plane to Port Angeles, plus an hour drive with Esme. I wasn't looking forward to that.

Carlisle is a world class surgeon; so he's hardly ever home, and when he is, he and I aren't all that talkative; we mostly stick to ourselves. Esme's the opposite. Eccentric and talkative, she's also incredibly perceptive when she wants to be. I wasn't looking forward to the car ride with her.

The moment I was off the plane in Port Angeles, I was immediately swept into one of Esme's bear hugs, "Jasper, was your trip good?"

"Hey mom... yeah it was fine." The sky was gray, nothing new there.

"Dear, dear. You're always so pale!" she remarked as we stepped outside. I sighed, heaving my suitcase into the back of her Jeep.

"I don't tan mom; I freckle," I responded as I pulled myself into the front seat. "Besides, it's not like there's all that much sun in Forks."

"How's Carlisle?"

"He's fine." I unzipped my bag, riffling through it quickly, I pulled out a few CDs.

"That's good... Oh, and you can use the Jeep," she was changing the subject. "It's secondhand, I know; but it's still good for your first car, right?"

"That's alright mom; I was planning to buy my own car."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it Jasper. I bought it off Billy, you remember him right? Well, anyways, he's in a wheelchair now so I was able to buy his Jeep off him cheap. Besides, I still have my old Honda, so it's all okay."

I gave her a small smile, "Wow, thanks mom." She nodded.

"It's a welcome present. Besides, I missed your birthday; so it's also a birthday present!"

Popping my CD in, I waited patiently as it loaded; thanking Esme again before the first strains of music filled the car.

'_The end. The songwriter's dead. The blade fell upon him, taking him to the white lands of Empathica, of Innocence. Empathica. Innocence._'

Esme cast a dirty look at the stereo, "Why don't you listen to something more upbeat?" I shrugged; it was just something I liked. And it did get the focus off me somewhat, I knew that Esme wouldn't want to have much of a conversation over this music. It would work in my favor.

Shaking her head, Esme asked, "Well, do you have a girlfriend?" I turned bright red, and shook my head wildly.

"Girls don't really notice me all that much..." Which was partly true; mostly the girls back at my high school in Vancouver thought me too fragile and thought it unlikely that I was straight, mainly because I was in their Home Economics classes. Besides, I was pretty much invisible at school.

"Oh... well, maybe you'll found the girl here in Forks." She paused, "Or maybe you've been looking at the wrong people. You know Jasper I would have no problem if you were-"

"Mom!" I was shocked. Sure, I was used to hearing it from other people; but my own mother? This was downright embarrassing.

"Oh alright Jasper... I won't push the subject."

Silence filled the car, only filled with the music that continued to play from the stereo. I knew Esme was a little unhappy about the lack of people in my life; truthfully, I didn't have many friends, the closet person I was too was my cousin, Emmett.

We arrived in Forks late in the evening to a light mist and heavily overcast skies. It wasn't anything unusual, it was the typical weather in Forks. The house looked exactly as I'd remembered it. The same white paint, with green trim; same walkway that wound around the house from the driveway and garage to the front door; nothing had changed. Well, except now there were no plastic toys left out on the lawn; they'd been sold years ago.

I followed Esme inside, my suitcase thumping up the steps loudly. She unlocked the door and held it open for me with a smile, "Welcome back Jasper." I returned the smile, but I wasn't sure that I was very convincing as Esme's slipped a little before she disappeared down the hall.

Slipping upstairs and to my room, I found it exactly the same as it had always been. Same pale green walls, white linen curtains, bed, desk, and nightstand. The quilt was folded just as I had left it on my last visit. The only new addition was the two boxes of my stuff.

It only took me a little while to unpack everything and shove the suitcase into the hall closet. It was systematic for me now; I'd always taken care of the house for Carlisle.

Neither of my parents cooked, so I trumped back downstairs, my faithful recipe book tucked under my arm, before Esme could even think to order something in or attempt to try and make something. Esme's cooking was always strange; she'd deviate from the recipe and come up with the strangest things. Like spicy cake or something.

Luckily, it seemed like Esme had gotten caught up in a call with someone, and was busy on the phone. I sighed and made my way into the kitchen and set about making something edible for dinner. Esme's kitchen wasn't all that well stocked, but there were some vegetables in the fridge and rice in one of the cupboards. I muttered to myself, "Alright, stir-fried vegetables and rice for dinner then."

I find cooking calming; so when Esme came in to see whether I'd started a fire or something, or it might have been to investigate the smell, I didn't notice. In any case, she starred at me in open shock as I started serving the food onto two plates.

"Jasper... is it safe to eat?" was the first thing Esme said as I set the plates on the table. I'd already set the table, complete with two glasses of milk. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course it's safe mom, who do you think did all the cooking for Carlisle?"

She poked at it. I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my own vegetables; there was nothing wrong with them. Esme watched intently as I did so, only chancing to eat once she saw me swallow it without a grimace or anything.

"Oh wow..." she muttered after trying some. "Seems you didn't get my terrible cooking skills! Or Carlisle's for that matter." She smiled, "This is good."

I returned the smile, sincerely this time, "Thanks mom."

Dinner was finished up with some slight conversation; nothing as embarrassing as earlier. I knew that Esme had enrolled me at the only high school in Forks, Forks High, and that I'd start tomorrow. I didn't tell her how nervous I was; I hated having the spotlight on me, and I knew that I'd have it on me for the next few days. At least I wouldn't be walking now.

After dinner, I did the dishes; Esme didn't have a dishwasher, and cleaned up the kitchen. I couldn't think of much else to do, so I slipped back upstairs. My room was pretty empty, but I was hoping that I might be able to add some more of the character that my room back in Vancouver had. I'd have to send Carlisle an email, or call him, and ask him to take my posters down and send them to me.

There's another reason I didn't really fit in back at home. I'm a bit of an anime geek. Not that I'm a hardcore one or anything, but I am one; it's one thing that I'm proud of. But I was that because of it, I'd stand out here even more. After all, if I couldn't blend in at a school of seven hundred or so students, then how would I blend in at one that was just over three hundred? Besides, I don't think that many kids around here are into anything remotely the same.

I picked through my books that I'd left in the box, arranging them sparsely onto my small bookshelf. Back in Vancouver, I'd had floor to ceiling shelving that ran the entire length of one wall; here, I had to make do with a tiny little book shelf Esme had bought secondhand. I hadn't been able to bring the majority of my books, so I'd brought only several of my favorites, including a lot of my manga collection; mostly Bleach.

Plunking the final volume into place, I noticed with dismay that I wouldn't be able to fit all of my stuff on it. Great... now where was I supposed to put my figure collection? Okay yeah, a slightly girly thing; but I'd been doing it since I was young... at least I'd gotten rid of all of my Disney ones.

I left them in the box, I'd figure out what to do with them later. Tucking the box away into the closet, I turned to the computer that sat on the small desk. Flipping it on, I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't take forever; it was only then that I realized that Esme had bought a new computer. Good, that meant I wouldn't have to wait forever for the stupid thing to boot-up.

Carlisle wouldn't email me until the next day at the earliest, but I knew my cousin Emmett would have. Emmett is about two years older then I am, and attends the University of Washington there. He's probably the only other person, apart from Esme, who was excited about my moving here. I knew he'd be the one who'd send about ten emails within the space of today, waiting for me to get in and check them.

Opening up the Internet, I quickly signed onto my email. It seemed Emmett had decided to be patient today; there was only one email in my inbox. I clicked on it.

'_Jasper._

_Hey, still can't believed ya moved down here. Anyways, email me when ya get in. Emmett._'

Replying to the email, I typed in:

'_Plane ride was fine. I was kinda worried about the drive with mom, but it worked out. Again, thanks for the Nightwish CD, saved me from one heck of an embarrassing conversation. Jasper._'

Hitting send, I leaned back in my chair and stared at the screen for a few moments before sighing. The reality only just sank in that much more, and it made me more depressed. Letting loose another sigh, I stood up and flicked off the monitor before heading for the bathroom. A hot shower was in order.

About fifteen minutes later, I reentered my room. Tossing my clothes into the hamper, I flopped onto my bed; flicking the light off. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and I might as well try to get as much sleep as possible; even though I pretty much knew that I wasn't, the wind was too loud. It was howling outside my window. I'd have to get used to it.

It was past midnight when I finally drifted off. My thoughts had taken a decidedly unhappy turn, and the wind didn't help either. My sleep was uneasy and not very restful. I didn't know that this was just the beginning of what was going to be the worst week of my life.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Rolling out of bed the next morning, I was at least somewhat happy that it wasn't too windy, and it wasn't raining. I took that as a good sign. I stumbled into the bathroom, still mostly asleep, to brush my teeth and yank a comb through my hair. Once that was done, I splashed cold water onto my face in an effort to wake myself up; I'm not a morning person.

I pulled on the simplest things that I could find in my closet; grabbing my favorite hoodie before trotting downstairs for breakfast.

Esme wasn't there, but I'd expected that. At first, I had been slightly surprised when my mother announced four years ago that she'd taken the position of police chief in Forks; but now, I figured that it was a good thing. It meant that she might not be around too often; I might still have some of my solitude.

The butterflies fluttered in my stomach, making it difficult to choke down my cereal. But once that was done, I steeled myself and grabbed my jacket, backpack, wallet, and keys before heading out the door. I knew I would probably be early for school; but I'd have to go to the main office first, and I wouldn't like to have countless eyes on me when I did. Plus, I didn't want to be late.

Pulling my jacket on and zipping it up, I pulled my hood up, hoping to hide my face somewhat; slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I headed out. Locking up the house, I walked down the walkway to the driveway before unlocking the Jeep and climbing in.

The interior was clean, but there was still the lingering smell of tobacco, gasoline, and... something that smelled like cinnamon I think. I shoved that aside; it was a car, at least I wouldn't have to take my mom's beat-up old Honda, or worse, accept a ride in her cruiser. I don't think I'd live through the embarrassment that would cause.

Starting up the engine, it roared to life before quieting down somewhat. Still, it was kinda loud. Oh well, old cars have their quirks. It was good enough otherwise. Lowering the volume of my music, I concentrated on trying to find the school with the heavy fog.

Finding Forks High wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was just off the highway, like almost everything else, with a large sign proclaiming it as Forks High School; it looked nothing like my high school back home. For one thing, it was a collection of buildings instead of the one big building I was used too. I groaned; it meant I'd have to spend more time outside in the cold. The only positive thing was that there weren't any hallways, good; that meant I wouldn't be pushed up against lockers.

The first building had a small sign over the door, which read FRONT OFFICE, I pulled into the empty parking lot there, sure that it was off limits, but I didn't want to drive around like an idiot. Killing the engine, I left the warm car, taking a few deep breaths before heading along the little stone path to the door.

It was a small office, brightly lit and warm. There were a few padded chairs, and the carpet was a horrendous, ugly orange color. The walls were covered with notices and awards, a big clock ticked loudly. Potted plants had been placed around the room, what was with the obsession with green around here? I stepped up to the desk which ran the length of the room.

A middle-aged woman with bright red hair and glasses was the only one at the desk, so I approached her. She looked up when I stepped up to the desk, "Can I help you?"

"I'm Jasper Whitlock," my voice quiet. Her eyes seemed to light up in recognition, great, just how many people had my mom blabbed about me too? Today was going to be difficult.

She smiled at me, "Of course. I have your schedule right... oh dear, where did I put it again?" She began shuffling papers around, before finding the right one. Then, she pulled out a few more and handed them to me. "Here we are, your schedule and a map of the school." In a few minutes, she'd highlighted the best routes and gone over my classes. "Good luck Jasper, I hope you like it here."

I gave her my best fake smile as I left the office.

Once I was back in the safety of my Jeep, the other students had started trickling in. Following the line of traffic, I found a spot in the student parking lot. I was glad to see that my Jeep blended in, the cars were all mostly old or secondhand. Back home, the student parking lot had been a diverse collection of cars; but I hadn't had one, I used public transit. The nicest car here was a shiny, new Volvo; it stood out. I was suddenly glad that my Jeep wasn't as loud as I thought it was.

I tried to memorize the map in the Jeep, I didn't want to walk around with it in front of me all day. After I was sure that I'd at least gotten it somewhat committed to memory, I shoved it back into my bag, slung it over my shoulder. Now all I needed was some confidence in myself, I could do this. I climbed out of my Jeep.

Keeping my head slightly bowed and my face firmly pulled back inside my hood, I joined the pack of teenagers on the sidewalk. I was immensely relieved to find that my black jacket didn't stand out, but I was still nervous as hell.

Once I'd rounded the cafeteria, I spotted building three. I fought back the urge to panic as my feet brought me closer and closer to the door. I followed two others inside.

It was a small classroom, and rather bare too. I was so used to the group tables and colorful pictures that my teacher had plastered all over her classroom. The two people I'd followed in turned out to be girls, and both were extremely pale; good, my skin wouldn't stand out too much then. I copied them as they hung their coats up.

The desk at the front of the room bore the name Mr. Mason, and a tall, balding man sat there. I blanched a little internally, but walked up to him and handed him my slip. He stared at it, then at me, before signing it. The only good thing about him was that he sent me to the back of the classroom after handing me a reading list. I was grateful for that; he hadn't forced me to introduce myself. I was doing good so far.

Even though my desk was at the very back of the classroom, the other students still managed to stare at me. I tried to ignore them, instead focusing on my reading list. I'd already read everything on it. I wondered if I could ask Carlisle to send my old assignments to me, but that idea was quickly shot down; Carlisle would see that as cheating. Mr. Mason droned on about something, I didn't bother trying to register what.

The bell rang suddenly, startling me. I quickly shoved my stuff into my bag, as turned to leave, I was stopped by a boy with skin problems and black hair that looked incredibly oily. I fought back laughter; it wouldn't do to make enemies on my first day.

"You're Jasper Whitlock, right?" He looked to be one of those over helpful types, maybe a suck-up; one of the types of people who I generally tried to avoid. I nodded. "I'm Eric. Where's your next class?"

I fumbled a little as I checked my schedule, "That would be math, in building seven." I couldn't look anywhere without meeting curious eyes.

"I'm heading for building four, I could show you the way if you like..." Yep, definitely the over-helpful kind.

"Thanks," I gave him a fake smile.

Retrieving our jackets, we headed out into the rain. It hadn't been raining this morning; but now it was. Even in Vancouver, there weren't as many rainy days as there were here.

"So," Eric was trying to start a conversation. "This a lot different then from where you're from?"

"Not really, it rains quite a bit in Vancouver."

"Vancouver... where is that exactly?"

I nearly glared at him, "Umm... it's up north in British Columbia; it's a province in Canada."

"Ah," he said it like he understood; I groaned, why did so many people seem to not know where Vancouver was? Well, at least here they didn't. Oh well. A disadvantage to living in a small town on the other side of the continent.

Eric walked me almost all the way to the door, before peeling away to head to his class. I groaned as I stepped into math; not this class... I'd rather be anywhere but here. The teacher, Mr. Varner, made me stand at the front of the class and introduce myself; I muttered rather murderously under my breath as I walked to my seat; careful to make sure that no one heard me.

It didn't take me long to start to recognize people. There was always a brave person who'd approach me to ask questions about where I was from, if I was liking Forks, and such. Mostly I lied. They didn't need to know the truth; and I didn't want them to know either.

Apparently, since I was new, several girls decided to hit on me. Some were a little too friendly, but I just smiled at them, kindly turning them down. One girl though, was incredibly persistent, but I was sure that she wasn't interested in me that way. She was in my math class and my Spanish class; and walked with me to the cafeteria. Then, she dragged me along to her table, and introduced me to all her friends. Eric waved at me from across the room; I felt embarrassed about that, I don't like having attention drawn to me.

It was in a crowded cafeteria, trying to avoid the questions of several strangers, that I saw them.

Well, to be more specific, that I saw **_him._**

My eyes drifted to their table, immediately focusing on them. They sat at the opposite end of the cafeteria from me; and they weren't looking at me, so I was safe to look at them.

None of them looked alike, the two boys were opposites of each other. One was tall and lanky, but still muscular, with dark, chocolate colored hair. The other boy was slightly shorter, less bulky, and his hair was a bronze color, and fell about his face and head untidily. He looked younger then the other; who looked about college age, or maybe he could have been a teacher here.

The girls on the other hand, were nothing short of beautiful. The tall girl was statuesque, with long wavy blond hair that fell to the middle of the back; she looked nothing like any of the girls I'd ever seen, except for the ones on the covers of magazines. The other two were shorter; one had long mahogany hair that fell to just a little past her shoulders; she had prominent cheekbones within her heart-shaped face, and her eyebrows seemed a little too straight. The last girl had wild, spiky black hair that went in every direction. She was the shortest of the group, and was almost pixie-like in her appearance.

Each of them was pale though; paler then me, the oddity. Their skin was chalky white, their eyes dark; and under those eyes were dark bruise-like shadows, like they were recovering from a broken nose. But they're features were all straight; perfect.

And yet... this wasn't what drew my attention to them.

They were all beautiful; like they'd just walked off the covers of airbrushed magazines. It was inhuman how they looked; so perfect and flawless.

None of them made eye contact with each other, looking at nothing in particular. I noticed how secluded they looked from the rest of the school; no one else really seemed to look at them.

I poked my neighbor, a boy whose name I'd forgotten already, "Who are **_they_**?"

He looked to see who I meant, and suddenly, the boyish one with the bronze hair was looking at us. He looked at my neighbor for the fraction of a second before his eyes flickered to me. He looked away just as quickly; and I dropped my head, surprised when I felt blood rush to my cheeks. Why the hell was I embarrassed?

My neighbor looked at me, "That's Edward and Riley Swan. The girls are Rosalie Hale, Isabella Swan, and Alice Weatherford. They live with Dr. Swan and his sister." He whispered all of this under his breath.

I glanced at them again, my eyes drawn to the younger looking boy for reasons I couldn't name. He was picking apart a bagel with long, slim fingers; his mouth moving very quickly. The others were still looking away, but I knew they were listening, that what he was saying was meant for them.

Their names weren't what I'd expected; older names, names you'd expect grandparents to have. Small town names. I finally remembered the names of a few of the people I was sitting with, the girl who'd dragged me here was named Jessica, and my neighbor's name was Mike.

I fumbled with what to say next, "They're... very attractive." That was an understatement.

"Yes, but they're **_together_** though. Riley's with Rosalie, and Alice and Bella are together." I could hear the condemnation in those words; obviously relationship between people of the same gender were looked down upon here. Even in Vancouver it was unusual, and people still weren't comfortable about it. "And they all live together."

"They don't look related..."

"They're not. Dr. Swan is really young, in his thirties or late twenties maybe. They're all adopted; except, Isabella is Ms. Swan's daughter."

"That's... really nice of them. Taking in all those kids."

Mike shrugged, "I guess so. But you shouldn't waste your time with them; Edward's turned down every girl here and the others won't even accept a dinner invitation." Sounded like someone was irked. But there was one more question niggling me.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I was sure that I'd have noticed them on one of my forced trips here. Mike was already shaking his head.

"They moved down here from somewhere in Alaska two years ago." I nodded, my eyes once more drawn back to them. They were like me here; newcomers. I was just glad that I wasn't the most interesting.

The youngest one met my gaze, unmet expectation in his eyes; at least, that's what I thought. He watched me, I couldn't help but color a little as I turned my gaze away from them.

"Which is the one boy with the reddish brown hair?" My voice didn't shake, I peeked at him again; he wasn't gawking at me or anything, in fact, he seemed... a little frustrated. That confused me as I looked down again.

"That's Edward, all of the girls would kill to go out with him; even a few of the guys, but no one's good enough for him here." His tone told me he was jealous, as did the vibes I was getting off him. I'm pretty good at knowing what mood someone's in, it's a talent or skill of mine.

I bit my lip to hide my smile, glancing at him one more time before he and his family left. I swore I saw his lips twitch upwards a little, like he was smiling too. I sat with the group for longer then I would have if I sat alone, but eventually we got up and left, one of the girls, the quietest one, reminded me that I had Biology II with her next hour. I walked with her in silence; she was shy, I thought of her as someone who I might become friends with.

The classroom looked a little like the labs did back at my school. Black-topped lab tables with metal stools, just like the ones I knew. There was only one available seat that I could see, the on next to Edward Swan in about the middle of the classroom.

I was vaguely aware of his eyes on me for a brief moment, my senses seemed to heighten at that realization. I nearly tripped as I made my way to the teacher's desk, my eyes only flicking upwards when I was only a short distance from him. He stared at me again. His eyes... they were angry, hostile. I nearly froze where I stood. He hated me already? Life wasn't fair.

His eyes were pitch black, like coal.

Mr. Banner signed my slip, handed me a textbook, and wordlessly pointed to the empty seat. I kept my eyes down as I walked back up the aisle to take my seat beside **_him_**, confused about the antagonistic glare he'd given me earlier.

I refused to look at him as I took my seat, setting my book on the table. His posture changed though. He leaned away from me, his face averted from mine, body as far from me as possible. It was like he smelled something bad. Shyly, I sniffed a bit of hair, it smelled of mint, nothing terrible. Unless he hated that smell. I refused to look at him, but my eyes betrayed my resolve and kept sneaking peeks at him throughout the class.

It didn't help that the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd done already. Unnecessarily, I took notes, anything to keep my mind off of the strange boy next to me. His fists were clenched, and he looked much more muscular then he had next to his brother. His muscles were tense beneath his pale skin.

Class dragged on for reasons I didn't know. When the bell finally rang, he was out the door before I'd even put my stuff away. Was this normal behavior for him? It didn't have anything to do with me. He couldn't know me enough yet to take such an instant dislike to me, I told myself. Yes, it had to have been something that had happened before I'd entered the room.

My convincing suffered when Mike asked as we headed to gym, "Did you stab Edward Swan with a pencil or something? I've never seen him act like that before."

I felt like I'd been slapped. I hadn't been the only one who'd noticed; and this wasn't Edward Swan's normal behavior. "Oh..."

"He looked in pain."

"I didn't do anything; I didn't even say a word to him."

"Oh... well, if I sat next to you, I'd talk to you, you seem like an interesting person Jasper."

I gave him a tiny smile, thankful that someone seemed nice.

Gym wasn't going to be great, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform, but didn't make me change or participate on the first day; of which I was glad. I'm okay at sports, but only at a few. My coordination skills aren't that great; the only sports I'm really good at are swimming and badminton.

When the final bell rang, I tore out of the gym and headed straight for the main office, eager to get out of here and get home. I wanted this hellish day to end. Walking in to the office, I nearly walked right back out.

Edward Swan was standing at the desk. I recognized his hair again, he luckily didn't notice me though, and continued arguing quietly with the receptionist as I pressed myself against the back wall, waiting for my turn.

It didn't take me long to get the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade out of period four Biology into any other period. I didn't want to believe this was just me, it **_couldn't_** be _**just**_ me.

The door flew open as a girl stepped in, the wind rustling everything. My hair fluttered a little in the breeze. The girl stepped up, placed something in one of the wire baskets, before walking right back out. My stomach felt like it was doing flip-flops as Edward tensed the moment the door opened; he turned around slowly to glare at me. I was suddenly aware that he was absolutely, perfectly attractive; but his coal black eyes were boring into me with such anger and hatred. I would've stepped back, but I was too terrified to move. My feet were glued to the floor, my body frozen.

"Nevermind then," he replied quietly. His voice like liquid velvet, I nearly staggered at its effects. "I can see that it's not possible. Thank you so much for your help." Then just like that he was gone, out the door.

Timidly, I approached the desk, my face whiter then normal, and thoroughly shaken. I handed her the signed slip.

"How was your first day, dear?" the receptionist asked motherly. I didn't trust my voice too much, so I smiled at her as convincingly as I could.

"... good." My voice was weak and cracked a little. She didn't look like she bought my lie.

I raced out of there, climbed into my Jeep and tried to calm myself down. It felt safe in here; a haven in this alien green world. I placed my head to the steering wheel for a few long moments as I tried to calm myself down, to slow my rapid heartbeat. Eventually, I got too cold and had to start the engine. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Esme's house.

For the first time in years, I thought I might cry.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

There's a crink in my neck, and I'm extremely tired. I finished this chapter at about one thirty in the morning, and I luckily don't have school tomorrow. God, I'm so thankful for that right now...

Anyways, like I said earlier, the education systems between Canada and America are HUGE. Here for instance, in grades ten and eleven, you take Pure Math 10 or Pure Math 20. There are other classes for math, like Applied Math; or IB or AP, I myself am taking Pure Math 10AP, and shall have no life because of it. For the sciences, it's very much the same thing, 10, 20, 30. I took Science 10AP, and am planning to take both Chem 20AP and Bio 20AP, which means that I'll have Bio 30AP the semester after. Just how things work.

Okay, I'm tired now and am going to bed. Leave me a review guys.

Twilight.

**EDIT 2008/27/12:** Editing done, chapter should now be error free.


	3. Chapter 2: Chemicals React

**A/N:** I did say that I was going to finish this over my long weekend, but then I got up reading some Agatha Christie, so I post-poned writing this. I apologize. Really! So here we have it! Chapter 2 of _Poison_. You'd better comment. Pretty please?  
Would anyone find if amusing that I don't know what a Thriftway is?  
**Words:** 5320 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I should mention that Bleach and its characters don't belong to me either; they're the property of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter 2: Chemicals React**

For me, the next day was better then the first; but it was also worse.

It wasn't quite ready to rain yet, even though the clouds were overcast and dark gray. I also knew how my day would go, which was another plus. Mike was also in my English class, and so he started hanging around me; at least it was someone, and someone who was friendly at least. Eric didn't seem too happy about that; but I was glad of it, I didn't really like him.

Other then that, I was starting to recognize people and put names to faces; another good thing. But I was pretty sure that it would take me a while until I was completely comfortable with their names and wouldn't call them by someone else's by mistake; which is a flaw of mine. I didn't get stared at as much either.

But I was still tired; the wind hadn't even abated last night, and it prevented me from sleeping. I failed a math quiz, and Mr. Varner had called on me when I didn't know the answer to the question, and I sent the volleyball hurtling into the ceiling before it came down and nearly thwacked me in the face.

The worst thing about it was Edward Swan wasn't even there.

I spent morning classes dreading lunch, but also perversely looking forward to it. I did want to talk to him about his strange behavior the day before; because I wanted to know what exactly it was that had elicited such anger and loathing in his manner towards me. But in the end, I knew that I wouldn't do it; all it would do was draw unnecessary attention towards me. I am a bit of a coward. I'd lain awake thinking about, but it was more of a fantasy then reality; I knew I'd never do it.

Upon entering the cafeteria with Jessica, my eyes were immediately drawn towards the table of unnaturally beautiful students. I blinked. Twice.

There were only four of them.

Edward wasn't there.

My stomach tightened uncomfortably, and I wasn't really sure why. Jessica, who had attached herself to my side after Spanish, was scanning the cafeteria, her expression immediately brightened when she spotted Mike heading towards us. That was most definitely a crush; I could feel the warm, mushy feelings practically radiating from every pore of her being. I struggled to keep my face straight.

I trailed behind Jessica as Mike lead us over to the table where all his friends sat; I hesitantly took a seat beside him and across from Angela. All through lunch, I kept hoping he'd show up and ignore me; and prove me completely wrong.

But as lunch dragged on, he didn't appear. The tension in my stomach slowly began to unravel and loosen. I nearly heaved a sigh of relief.

At the bell, Mike immediately rose and fell easily into step beside me as I headed to Biology. The tension was back again; would he be in class? With Mike following me like a dog, I found myself feeling a little cooped up. I'd always kept myself on the fringe of school; with few friends, I'd never been a popular person. And now, here I was finding myself becoming exactly that. It made me uncomfortable. Well, at least most of the kids here weren't stuck up, some of them were nice.

When I saw that my lab table was empty, I felt all of the tension wash out of me. I could feel a smile tug at the corners of my lips, but I said nothing. Mike was busy yapping about a beach trip as I took my seat and pulled out my books, at the second bell, he looked at me for a moment before trotting over to seat beside a rather bland looking girl with bleached blond hair.

I was sort of glad for the relief, I guess I wasn't really suited for small town life. Diplomacy counted here, that was, if I was reading Mike correctly.

Throughout the entire class, I kept repeating to myself that it was a relief that Edward wasn't there; but every time I repeated that in my mind, a sort of... shiver raced through me. I couldn't place if it was good or bad, but there was this feeling inside that _**I**_ was the reason he wasn't here; that I was the cause of his absence. I shoved the concern to the back of mind; it was an impossibility that I'd cause such a great effect on him.

It was great to be done school for the day! My cheeks had cooled down and lost most of the color from my flush with gym class; but I was happy to be back in my regular clothes. Changing faster then the others, I was happy to find that I'd evaded Mike for the time being. Nice person and all, but I like my space. I happen to enjoy being alone.

Climbing into my van, I made sure that I had what I needed.

I'd known Esme couldn't cook ever since I was little. She was... well a bit eccentric and experimented with it to much, so everything she made was practically inedible. She was out of food almost already, so I'd taken over kitchen detail. I'd found a glass jar in one of the cabinets near the door labeled GROCERIES, so I'd grabbed what was in there and my list, and I was now on my way to the local grocery store.

Pulling out into the line of cars waiting to leave, I noticed the Swans, Hales, and Weatherford group climbing into their car. It was that shiny, new Volvo I'd spotted the first day. Now that I looked closer, I realized how well-dressed they all were. All of their clothes looked simple, but definitely seemed to have some sort of designer origin.

Again, I was surprised by how perfect they were. But they were isolated too; that _**had**_ to be by choice. With the way they looked, any door would be opened to them. Their eyes followed my Jeep as I left; I kept my eyes locked forward even though I could feel several of their stares boring into me. I felt unnerved.

It was with a great relief when I was finally free of the school grounds.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Luckily, I found the store without much difficult and it wasn't too far from the school either. I felt normal once I was inside and shopping. It was like shopping at home; only with less people. It was big enough inside that I could forget where I was and feel like I was back home in Vancouver.

It was raining when I left the store; but I got home without any problems. My Jeep was pretty good in this sort of weather. When I arrived home, I had the task of putting away all the groceries. Once that was done, I hurriedly wrapped up potatoes in some foil, sticking them in the oven. Then, I had to marinate the steak and set it in the fridge in an empty place.

Finished with that, I went upstairs to ditch my bag. I changed from my jeans into a pair of sweats, which were much more comfortable (even though there were a few paint stains on them). I checked my email, surprised that Emmett had responded to my email so quickly.

_Oh really? What'd she ask?_

_Anyways, are you thinking of coming up to Seattle any time soon? Been a while since I saw you last. See ya soon. Emmett._

Great, now Emmett would know about what Esme had brought up. Oh well, better my cousin know about it. I typed a quick response.

_Disappointed I didn't have a girlfriend, so then she asks if it's a boyfriend. Apparently, she thinks I might be gay._

_Seattle? I don't know... I'll have to see about that, but I think it would be good for me to get out of town for a while. You're right about that. Jasper._

Hitting send, I sighed. Oh well, I'd better get back to my homework. There wasn't much; just some assigned reading in _Wuthering Heights_, which I had already read more then once. I pulled it out anyways to start again. I quickly lost track of time; getting caught up in the story. It was only the sound of Esme's car pulling into the driveway. She normally left the cruiser at the station. I dropped my book and hurried downstairs to switch out the potatoes for the steak.

"Jasper?" My mother called as I came into the kitchen, I forced myself not to roll my eyes at that; after all, who else would it be in the house?

"Hey mom, welcome back."

She beamed at me, "Thanks dear." She hung her gun belt up and stepped on the heels of her boots to pull them off as I hurriedly tossed together a salad before putting it in the fridge to wait. She'd stopped taking the bullets out of her gun after I turned ten; I guess she figured I wouldn't try to fool around with it or shoot myself in a fit of depression.

Esme watched as I pulled down plates and got out cutlery, "What did you make?"

"Er... steak and potatoes," I answered absently. I watched as she scooted out of the kitchen; probably to catch the tail end of a few soaps. The TV turned on shortly after, and I could hear the voices from it drift in from down the hallway. She came back in when I called her for dinner.

"Wow! This looks great Jasper!" Her eyes were shining and she seemed really happy; I smiled at her as we sat down.

"So, how did you like school today? Any new friends? Girls? Boys?"

"Umm... there's a girl in a few of my classes named Jessica. And then there's boy named Mike, he's friendly too. Everyone seems nice to me."

"Mike...? Oh! Mike Newton! Yes, yes I know him. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town; makes a good living off the backpackers who pass through. A good family; a good kid."

I hesitated before asking, "Do you know anything about the Swan family?" My voice shook a little, but I hoped Esme didn't notice.

"The doctor's family? Of course I do. Doctor Swan is a great town; an asset to the community." Her tone was a little clipped and her expression sour as she continued, "Why?"

"Oh... they just umm... don't really seem to fit in here is all..."

"Doctor Swan is a worldclass surgeon, just like your father Jasper. He could work anywhere in the world, get a higher salary then what he's paid here too. But he chose to come here because the small town life suited him better and he wanted his kids and niece to grow up in a wholesome and safe environment. We're incredibly lucky to have him."

I fumbled for an answer, trying not to embarrass myself too much, "They all look... attractive..."

"Oh I know. You should see the doctor; he looks remarkably handsome for his age, he's not married but he seems to be happy being single." Esme looked at me for a long moment, but said nothing else. I hurriedly shoved some more steak in my mouth and conversation turned to less dangerous waters.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

The next week of my life was uneventful for the most part. The wind had died down a lot, and I found that it made it easier to sleep. And also, with a decent night's sleep it was easier to concentrate on the pure evil that was math. The only unit in math I'd ever been good with was polynomials; it was the main reason why I'd dropped out of Math 10AP. The math was too hard for me and I just couldn't keep up.

We were still doing volleyball in gym; and the others had quickly discovered that while I was probably the weakest player on the team, I didn't cause a wave of destruction whenever the ball occaisonally made its way to me.

And Edward Swan wasn't at school.

It was bizarre; the way I seemed so nervous about whether he'd be there or not. I couldn't eat or relax until I'd seen that his family had entered and sat down without him; not until the relief had washed through my stomach and my muscles relaxed from their tense state.

I couldn't help wonder if just **_maybe_**, I was developing some form of crush on him.

Wait, no way! I do not have a crush on a guy! Least of all Edward Swan!

Esme still worked most of the weekend; she'd spent years with just her in the house, and I'd convinced her that she didn't have to change her routines just for me. I'd grown used to being alone in an empty house. I spent my weekend rereading _Wuthering Heights_ and catching up on the updates in Bleach.

Monday came around quickly, and I while I didn't remember names; I still waved and smiled at people who greeted me. It was chillier that morning, but the rain hadn't come yet (sadly; I happen to like rain). English was a bore, a pop quiz on _Wuthering Heights_ which I easily aced; I missed my English 20AP class back in Vancouver. It was never boring there.

Emerging from the classroom with my faithful, unwanted 'pet' by my side; there were swirls of white fluff in the air.

Oh shit.

Hell no.

Snow!

Mike was too happy, and immediately pointed out this unwanted development, "Hey look, it's snowing!"

"Wonderful."

He glanced at me, surprise written all over his face, "You don't like snow I take it."

"Oh gee, whatever gave you that idea?"

"You don't have to be so snappy."

"Snow's not bad... I just don't like it when the weather's too mild."

And then out of nowhere, a big, sloshy ball of snow smacked into Mike's head. It exploded and I was none too pleased when some of it ended up on me. I turned around, ready to shoot a death glare at whoever had launched the wet projectile; only to be greeted by Eric's stiff, retreating back as he walked briskly away.

With a devilish grin, Mike started packing together his own mushy snow ball. I backed up a little, telling him, "I'm going now... I'd rather not suffer hypothermia and have to be hospitalized. I'll see you at lunch." The only reply that I got was a nod. I groaned; today was just not going to be my day. At all.

Despite my pessimistic and unhappy attitude, everyone else seemed really damn happy about the snow. I kept hearing about how it was the first snowfall of the year, how cool it was, snowball fights... you get the picture. All in all, I wasn't too happy.

I really hate icy balls of slightly frozen water smacking into me. Trust me it's not pleasant.

Jessica escorted me to the cafeteria; laughing whenever I ducked or dodged an incoming snow ball. I just glared back at her, and she seemed to get the idea that lobbing one at me wouldn't be a great idea. But she just radiated longing to do so.

Life really sucked.

And it would only go downhill from here.

Hopefully I'd bottom out soon and start heading back up. That was, if I was still able too.

Mike caught up to us finally just as we were reaching the head of the line. He looked like a drowned rat, and I commented on that.

"Aw, don't be such a spoil-sport Jaz! Loosen up a little! You know, have some fun!"

I snorted, "Yeah, lobbing balls of frozen water at each other is lots of fun..."

He seemed to get that my foul mood wasn't going to improve any time soon; so he just shrugged and quickly engaged Jessica in a discussion about the epic battle of blizzard that he was planning for after school. I mentally cringed; I'd either have to hurry after school or wait it out. Lovely.

Almost reflexively, I glanced over at the table in the corner. My eyes dropped immediately and I felt a hot flush rise to my cheeks when I realized that there were **_five_** people there today. He was there; he was back.

My day officially was crappy at that moment.

"Jaz? You okay?" Mike asked; I was reminded of a puppy leaping about its owner. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine; just not hungry today." I grabbed a soda and waited as they grabbed their food before letting them lead me to a table. My stomach was doing uncomfortable flip-flops the entire time, and nothing I said to myself could stop them. Mike pestered me all the way to the table about whether or not I was okay; and each time I lied. I think the repitive nature of my lies made him believe me, and he eventually left me alone.

I thought of playing up the sick excuse; but I quickly squashed that. I wasn't some silly coward or girl with a crush; I could handle this. I could handle this.

With a quick glance up, I looked at him from under my bangs.

He was laughing with Riley, who had his arm slung about Rosalie's shoulders. Bella was giving them a small smile as they shook their damp hair about, while Alice looked to be laughing at the look on Rosalie's face. But... there was something different, I thought, as my flickered from each of their faces. It wasn't so much visible on the others as it was on Edward. So I focused all my attention on him.

Edward didn't seem as pale as he had when I'd last seen him, but that was probably from the snow balls that had hit him. But those circles under his eyes that I'd noticed before didn't seem as bruise-like; they were more faded, not as noticeable as they had been before. But... there was something else there... something I couldn't quite put my finger on...

"Jaz, are you staring at Edward again?" Jessica asked in her annoying nasal voice. I quickly looked away; but his eyes caught and held mine for a brief moment. I stared at the table.

This time... he didn't seem angry at me... he just seemed... curious.

"He's staring at you, you know." Jessica's smile was almost cruel, and I nearly shivered at the waves of jealousy coming off of her. She was obviously resentful of my being the one that Edward was staring at; he'd probably shot her down and never paid her the time of day. Somehow, that thought caused a surge of pleasure through my heart, and I wondered just how much I was becoming obsessed with him.

"Just stop staring at him Jess!"

She giggled, and I glared at her to make sure she complied; I breathed a silent sigh of relief when she did so. Even though Jessica was obviously jealous at the attention that Edward Swan seemed to be paying to me, it was also extremely obvious that she enamored with Mike; proven when she passionately agreed to take part in the epic snow ball fight he was planning for after school.

Lovely.

When the lunch bell rang, signifying the end of the break, I hurried to make it out of there before anyone else. Mike was a popular target, and I wasn't looking forward to having ice streaking down my back, neck, or face again. However, luck seemed to be on my side.

It was raining heavily.

I gave a mirthless smirk as I watched the snow be washed away by the icy water. Good, I wouldn't have to worry about hiding out inside after school or being hit by a sloppy ball. Today was starting to look up; even though the rest of the student body didn't seem too happy about this development.

Of course, I hadn't forgotten about Bio; and my stomach was quick to remind me of that. I was suddenly quite glad that I hadn't eaten anything at lunch, my nervous state wasn't helped by the butterflies and flip-flops of my stomach. So imagine how relieved I was when I arrived to find that he hadn't gotten there yet. Mr. Banner was placing microscopes and boxes of slides on each lab bench, and I walked over to mine.

I had a few minutes till class started, so I pulled my notes out from the day before and concentrated very, very hard on rewriting them into my notebook. It wasn't a hard task, and in a few minutes I found myself deeply immersed in the subject. That was, until I heard the rasp of the chair beside me as it was pulled back.

For a brief moment, my pencil paused, before I forced myself to continue going. It was hard to concentrate on notes when I was so sure that he was glaring down at me.

"Good afternoon."

My head shot up at the soft voice, and I sat there and stared at him for a few minutes; taking in his perfection. He looked like he'd just walked off a set for a commercial for some type of hair gel. I was just stunned that he was talking to me; this being of absolute perfection.

It was a little scary.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself, my name is Edward Swan," he smiled at me, and I just stared at him. He continued, "You must be Jasper Whitlock. Or do you go by Jaz?" His smile widened, and I felt heat rise in my cheeks as I tried to come up with a response.

"... Jasper's fine." My mind though, was like a hamster in its wheel. What had happened last week? Had it been some kind of dream or hallucination? There was just no way... he was being nice and polite; there was just no way that anyone could do that much of a one-eighty in just a week! "B-but... how do you know my name?"

"Everyone here I think knows your name and who you are, Jasper." I groaned internally; so it was like that...

I liked how he said my name.

I nearly started at that; where had that come from! This didn't make any sense! How could one person, just one person have such an effect on me so soon? It just didn't seem right, or possible. But still... it didn't change the fact that that was very true; I did like how he said my name.

"Where'd you hear about the Jaz part? Not even my mom calls me that..."

His smile was spectacular, and he chuckled. It was a low, musical sound.

"Oh that? I heard your friends calling you that, and since you didn't seem to resist being called that, I just wondered if it might have been a preference." He paused for a minute, confused, "Do you prefer it?"

"No. I actually prefer my full name. I'm just glad that my mom hasn't been using those ridiculous pet names she has for me... that would be mortifying." I felt stupid; why was I telling him so much? It was like I had this weird compulsion to tell him everything; it was almost frustrating. Note the almost.

"I see."

Class started just then, and I was grateful for that. Mr. Banner explained the lab to us, the slides were out of order, we had to put them back in order. Onion root, mitosis. We couldn't use our books, which was sort of a given considering the lab; I nearly rolled my eyes, my class back home didn't need to be told that. We had twenty minutes to complete the lab.

When we were instructed to start, Edward turned to me with a smile, "Why don't you start?" His smile was absolutely breath-taking, and for a moment all I could do was stare. His mouth slipped into a frown, and he offered, "Or I could start if you don't want to." Great, he probably thought I was an idiot. I shook my head a little to clear it.

"No, I'm fine. I'll do it."

I knew that it was slightly cheating of me, I'd already done the lab and knew precisely what I was looking for. Snapping the first slide into place, I turned the knob to the 40X objective. I only needed a brief look once it was in focus to identify it.

"Prophase." I was confidant; I knew what I was doing.

"May I?" his voice was low, as he gestured to the microscope as I began to take the slide off. His hand was suddenly on mine and I nearly jumped out of my skin at the contact. It wasn't that his hand was like ice, like he'd shoved them in the freezing water before his hand connected with mine; it was the electrical shock feeling that shot through me that caused that reaction in me.

His hand immediately retracted from mine, and he mumbled an apology as he took the microscope to have a look.

"You're right; prophase."

Ha, take that! I'm right!

I watched, amazed, as he wrote out the answer in the first blank on our worksheet. His writing was flowing; perfect handwriting that was almost as beautiful as he was. Damn, what wasn't he good at? I almost wanted to bash my head onto the desk. Screw him and his perfection!

Under my careful scrutiny, Edward snapped the next slide into place, and briefly examined it, "Anaphase," was his confidant assessment. 

None the less, I looked at him with as carefully schooled features as I could, and asked, "Can I take a look?" He shoved the microscope at me, and I took a look.

He was right. I held my hand out for the next slide without even looking at him. It was carefully set into my hand; he was being careful not to touch my skin again. I snapped into place too, and with a fleeting glance, I assessed it, "Interphase." Before he could ask for it, I'd pushed the microscope towards him.

Edward gave a short nod in agreement after looking, and filled it in on the worksheet. I could've written; but my horrible writing would probably look out of place. So I just let him fill it out.

Everyone else was still working on the lab when we finished, I knew it would be smarter to just go back to my notes; continue them, but I couldn't but watch him. I stared at him, it was almost like I was trying to memorize each of his perfect features. His eyes... they looked different today.

Before I even realized it, my hand was already raised to touch his face. I hurriedly dropped it and turned a bright shade of red; I'm sure he would start laughing at me at any moment... haha, the new guy's into him... yeah, real smooth Jasper; it's still your first month here, and you've already gotten yourself in up to your neck. Wonderful. Things can't get any worse then this, can they?

Instead, he asked, "What? Is there something on my face?" I looked up to see him giving me this crooked smile that nearly caused me to fall off my chair in shock. I caught myself before I could, and managed to close my mouth and look away quickly; but I got the feeling that he noticed the bright red flush that immediately made its presence known on my cheeks.

He kept his voice quiet, and I don't think that even if he raised it that I'd have any troubles picking it up in the noisy classroom; it was like the sound of his voice had burned its way into my memory and wasn't leaving anytime soon. Unfortunately, before I could hear his musical voice again, Mr. Banner came over to see why we weren't working. He took one glance at our completed sheet and looked at Edward.

"Did you let Jasper take a look Edward?"

"I did, he identified three of them."

Mr. Banner turned my attention to me, eyebrow raised, I gave a tiny smile, "I was in Bio 30AP back home; I did this lab last semester."(1)

"You were in advanced placement I take it?"

I nodded meekly; he accepted my answer and walked off. Now Edward's full attention was on me again, "If you had just started Bio 30, then why not take Biology 3 this semester instead of two?"

"I... didn't want to stand out much. I hate being the center of attention; everyone's just looking at you and waiting for you to screw up."

He smiled at me again, and I couldn't help but look at him from the corners of my eyes; I shifted a little on my stool. Why does he always look at me like that?

"Oh... so Jasper, why did you come to Forks?"

Was he interrogating me? But no one had asked that so straight-forwardly... and I just felt compelled to tell him the truth.

"My dad's going back into the dating scene," I muttered darkly. He gestured for me to continue. "I guess women don't think that having a teenage son around makes for much appeal. They all have thought I'm trouble."

"You don't seem like the type who gets into trouble, Jasper," he mused. "Unless that trouble involves accidents."

"I'm not fragile. I can look after myself."

He frowned a little, "I wasn't insinuating anything of the sort. So why Forks?"

"My mom's... well, she's always wanted me to move down with her; and since I was getting in Carlisle's way with him trying to find someone to spend his life with, I decided why not now? I've only got about a year and a half left in high school and then I'm gone."

"But you're unhappy."

I was startled that he'd seen through all of my pretenses and fallcities, how had he done that? No one else here had even picked up on it, "So? If Carlisle's happy then that should be good enough for me."

"But would he do the same thing for you if the situation called for it?"

I blushed and looked away, "That's different... he's my dad."

"Ah."

Silence hung for a few moments; I tried to clear my head, but wound up failing to do so. He was watching me again, an edge of frustration in his eyes this time. It made his golden eyes seem to smoulder, and I couldn't look away from them; I was hypnotized.

Then the bell rang. He broke my eye contact and was out the door before I could even blink. For some reason, my heart felt like it had just plunged through the floor. His quick exit seemed to have hurt me more then I would've liked.

Damn... it really could get worse.

I was definitely in over my head.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Phew, there we go! I'm done the second chapter at long last! I know I promised I'd have this chapter out sooner, but the stupid math got in the way of letting me sit down for any length of time until now... I am failing AP math; I'm so dropping into Pure Math 10. I'm not passionate enough, nor do I love math enough to do well in AP math. So there's my sob story for today.

Next chapter will be up next month! My goal is to post at least a chapter per month. So this is March's chapter, and the next one will be April's. If I can, I'll try to fit more then one chapter in a month; cause my goal is to finish this one before summer starts so I can focus on those two epic Bleach one-shots I have planned out...

BY THE WAY YOU SHOULD ALL GO READ _EMPATHY_ BY HEUK YA BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME AND MADE OF WIN!

Ha, okay, now that I'm done my shameless promotion of another author's work (who I firmly admire by the way, I can only dream that I'll be able to write as good as her), I hope you guys liked this chapter and will leave me lots of nice reviews to help me keep going.

Thanks!

Twilight.

(1) - Here, when you take Biology in AP, you take 20 and 30 back to back. Bio 20 first semester and Bio 30 second semester; since the two courses go so well together. It means you can take your Biology AP exam in grade eleven instead of twelve.


	4. Chapter 3: Accidents and Compliments

**A/N:** So I had to restart this chapter; I lost what I'd written for it when my document closed out on me unexpectedly and refuses to recover it; so I have to start all over again from scratch. It sucks. Which brings me back to having to work really hard so I can get this chapter out soon this month, like I promised. If I do, then I will most definitely start immediately onto the fourth chapter; so you guys might get lucky and get two chapters in one month!  
**Words:** 4 570 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I should mention that Bleach and its characters don't belong to me either; they're the property of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter 3: Accidents and Compliments **

Waking up the next morning, it was darker out then usual. I fell out of bed again, disoriented, and landed on my butt with a soft thud. Rubbing the offended area until the pain had dulled a little, and looked out the window.

Hell no.

Snow.

Damn.

In Forks, the snow is completely different from in Vancouver. The only other time that I'd experienced snow in Forks I hadn't been looking forward to the experience of it again. Plowing through the snow, missing corners and possibly falling, ice... oh god... ice! That meant slipping and sliding and falling flat on my face! My balance is okay, but not the best in the world; ice just happens to be my worst nightmare. Multiple times I'd fallen onto my butt on my way to the bus stop for school or when I'd arrived at school back home; here it was worse because it could mean plummeting into a snow drift and being wet and cold all day.

Taking a little more time then usual to get ready for school, I was trying to put off the fiasco that awaited me outside for as long as possible, I debated whether or not I should just stay home for today. That course of action was quickly tossed out the window for a number of reasons: a) because it would possibly be worse tomorrow and wasn't going to get better for a while; and b) because at that moment a picture of Edward's face popped into my mind. The latter really sealed it for me; I wanted to go, even at the cost of the embarrassment it would cause me, because I'd see him there.

Really, I was screwed over in the worst possible way.

Coming down the stairs, the nervousness settled into the pit of my stomach again; and I was glad that Esme was just going out the door when I arrived in the kitchen.

"I'll see you tonight dear, be careful on your way to school!" she told me as she closed the door behind her. I was glad that she'd left already; it wouldn't do for her to see me so pale and with haphazard blotches of red on my cheeks at my realization; it would be incredibly hard to explain it away.

Again, I didn't eat anything because of the state of my stomach and that the probability that it would come back up was high. I grabbed a bottle of my favorite Pom tea from the fridge, ripping off the plastic, before pulling my jacket on, hood up; and dashed out the door.

Skidding on the walkway a little, I slammed into the door of the Jeep, hard. Grumbling, I opened the passenger door (which I'd impacted with) and threw my bag in before slipping my way to the driver's side. Once inside, I started the Jeep; not moving until it had warmed up enough so that my butt wasn't frozen to the seat and I couldn't see my breath.

Bringing the Jeep into gear, I carefully made my way out of the driveway and onto the road. I kept my speed low and drove carefully along the dangerous, icy roads of Forks trying my utmost best to not crash or wind up in a car wreck. Luck seemed to be on my side, because I made to school in one piece without even the slightest skid.

Pulling into my usual parking spot, I chugged the last of my tea, shoving the empty glass into the cup holder. I hopped down and walked around the Jeep to pull my bag out of the other door. Walking around the Jeep, I paused to look at my tires. Winter tires.

Esme had spent the extra money to get winter tires put on my Jeep; I was touched.

Before I could step out of the way, I heard something that sounded that could either be the screech of tires braking or speeding up. My head snapped up and I could see Lauren at the wheel of her rather nice Chevy speeding right toward me with a look of grim satisfaction on her face. I quickly realized that there was no way that I could get out of the way before she turned me into a pancake between her truck and my Jeep.

I took an instinctual step back, pinning myself further against the Jeep. Now this is where things got a little... weird.

For some reason, my eyes were draw over to where the Cullens' Volvo was parked. Edward was there; his eyes wide. My eyes were stuck on his face, I couldn't tear them away; it was like my mind was trying to imprint his beautiful visage into my memory to take into death, that the last thing that I would see would be him. Somehow, the shock and anger that I saw there was... endearing. It made me believe that maybe, just maybe, that he cared about me; that my feelings for him weren't entirely not returned.

Suddenly I was knocked sideways and off my feet and away from the path of Lauren's Chevy. I hit the ground hard, and bounced up a little, colliding with something equally hard; knocking the wind out of me. Gasping for breath, I shuddered as what felt like iron bands close around me; pulling me tightly in a curled ball against a marble-hard surface.

"Damn!"

My heart thudded in an erratic rhythm when that velvet voice reached my voice. Even now, when it was clearly angry it still was the most lovely sound I'd ever heard. I breathed shallowly; trying to regain the oxygen that I'd lost from the impact with the pavement. What I had mistook for iron bands were actually his arms that were wrapped firmly around me and holding me to his chest; which was hard, like rock. But that wasn't what caught my attention.

Lauren's truck had curled around the corner of my Jeep and was rolling towards us; and we were right smack dab in its path. I panicked and clawed at his jacket, "Edward!" His name rolled off my tongue like honey, and I shuddered at the feeling. When he spoke next, my thoughts cleared surprisingly quickly, allowing me to focus on trivial matters; like the fact that he was holding me.

"Are you okay Jasper?"

"Eh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good."

This is where things got weird.

Lauren's truck had gotten caught on the car beside us, and was causing it to roll towards it. I watched as Edward braced his shoulders against it; effectively stopping it from rolling over us. I stared at him with wide eyes. I'd known for a while now that there was no way that he could be human, but this, this just seemed to prove it beyond a doubt.

I was still in Edward's arms when the yelling and screaming started.

"Oh my god!"

"Someone call an ambulance!"

"Get Lauren out of the car!"

"Jasper?! Jasper!"

I couldn't find my voice to respond, and my fingers had seemed to freeze in their clenched position on his jacket; I didn't want to let go of him. I was perfectly content, even though we were smushed in the small space between the two cars. My breathing was labored and I was finding it difficult to do so; but when I focused on his calm, even breathing; I was able to calm myself down enough.

"Edward?"

"Yes Jasper?"

"Are you okay?" I worriedly ran my hands over his shoulders, frowning as I found no injuries and no winces of pain or anything; his face remained smooth, like there was nothing wrong.

"I'm fine Jasper; don't worry about me. How do you feel?" His scorching amber eyes were on me now, watching my face carefully. I swallowed hard.

"I-I think so... yes, I feel fine. Just a little winded," I tried to smile; surprised when it actually worked. Edward didn't return my smile; his lips were firmly set in a hard line. I swallowed reflexively and moved a hair closer to him; it was unexplainable and probably inexcusable to do so; but I felt extremely safe where I was in his arms, being held against him so tightly.

"Did you hit your head? Are you in any pain?" he asked, his voice faster; almost too fast for me to keep up with. There was something there though... something I hadn't thought I'd hear from him, but that I'd heard from others very often. Concern.

"No, at least, I don't think so. You pretty much cushioned me from the impact," I responded, glad that my voice didn't shake this time. Then something else came to mind, "How did you get over here so fast?"

"Whatever do you mean Jasper?"

I looked up at him, confused, but pressed on, "You were over by your car... how did you get to me so fast?"

His face hardened again, he was closing off to me again, "I have fast reflexes."

Not completely satisfied with that answer, I was about to argue with him; but then I thought about it a little more, it wouldn't do to push him further on a subject that he didn't want to talk about. Instead, "Thank you."

This seemed to catch him a little off guard, "For what?"

"For saving me; if it wasn't for you, I'd either be dead or nearing death," I beamed up at him; so sure that he already knew this, but just needed to be reminded of it.

"Jasper?! Jasper! Can you hear me?" I could hear Ms. Cope's voice over the commotion.

Somehow, I managed to respond, "Yes, I can hear you!"

"Oh! Good! Just hold on for a little longer Jasper! We'll get you out as soon as we can!"

I just realized that the crash had caused my Jeep and the car next to it to form a sort of cocoon around Edward and I; there was also a huge dent in the car from where I'd seen Edward brace his shoulders to give us a little more room. I started to worry, "Edward, are you sure you're alright?"

He looked down at me, his face twisted into a face of worry, "Yes, I told you that already."

"Oh... I was just making sure."

That's when it all seemed to go a little downhill.

"Jasper?! Oh my god! Jasper are you okay?!"

Esme was there.

I should have expected someone to call the police, and I should have known that Esme would be there; the moment that she heard about the accident, and that it involved me, would race over here as fast as she could. This was going to either cause extreme embarrassment or just make the situation better. Luckily, Esme seemed to get over her panic as she took charge of the situation; I could hear her issuing orders and commands from where I was in the wreckage.

Throughout the entire time of waiting for them to extract us from the wreckage; Edward didn't let go of me. His arms never released me from the cage of protection they held me in, and I remained firmly in his lap with them around me. I was a little embarrassed about it; my cheeks were warm, but I was also oddly content. Even in the terrible situation I was in, I didn't want to move.

Eventually, they managed to extract Lauren from her destroyed Chevy and move it enough for Edward and I to get out. Apparently, Edward didn't either trust me when I'd said I was fine, or he was just acting a little too protective of me; but he carried me out of the space bridal style. Luckily, it was easy enough to pretend that the stress of the accident had gotten me tired; so I could hide my face in the crook of Edward's neck so that no one could see the bright red color of my cheeks.

Esme was there almost immediately, "Jasper? Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine; I think he's just exhausted from it. Maybe a little bruised from being jostled about, but that's it," Edward assured her, I groaned; which seemed to help cement the lie.

"Well, thank you for protecting my son..." Esme began, trailing off at the end.

"Edward."

"Thank you Edward." Esme was obviously weighing something in her mind; I could tell by the tone of her voice. Edward was still... giving off vibes of protectiveness; and it was directed towards me, I felt my heart swell. "But I'd still feel better if a doctor looked over him; just to be sure."

"Of course, that was what I was going to suggest. If you drive, I'm sure that Charlie would be happy to look him over for you."

"Really? That wouldn't cause Doctor Swan any problems?"

"Charlie doesn't mind; he's always willing to help people out."

I grumbled against Edward's neck, "I'm fine... I don't need to see a doctor..."

"No, I won't feel better until you've seen a doctor, Jasper," Esme insisted. "You bring him Edward, I'm so sorry that you have to carry him..."

"I don't think that Jasper has a good sense of balance at this point in time; and I really don't mind Chief Cullen," Edward's voice soothed me; and I found myself drifting a little. "Besides, I don't think I can dislodge his fingers at this point."

Edward managed to fold himself into the front seat of the cruiser without jostling me; Esme climbed into the driver's seat and I pulled my head out from the crook of Edward's neck, resting my head on his chest, facing Esme.

"You look out of it Jasper," Esme commented. "I think that seeing Doctor Swan is a good idea. You might not think there's anything wrong with you, but there might be."

"But-"

"Shush Jasper, no arguing," Edward silenced me. I couldn't give him a good glare from the angle that my head was at, and I was too comfortable to move from my position; so I merely closed my eyes and let myself drift.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remembered was Edward carrying me through the light snow into the hospital. Only now did I realize that I'd gone numb from cold where his arms were, I pressed my face a little more against his shoulder, inhaling a scent that was uniquely him and delicious, while wondering why he was so hard. Unnaturally so; like marble.

"Come on Jasper, you can wake up now," Esme goaded. "Doctor Swan would like to examine you."

Looking up with hooded eyes, I saw what had to be one of the most beautiful people I'd ever laid eyes on. He was different from Edward, but that didn't take away from the more mature beauty he held. Doctor Swan was older, middle-aged maybe, early to mid thirties was my guess; but he looked just like a model with his dark brown hair and golden eyes. He looked me and Edward over with a smile, though his eyes seemed guarded.

"Ah, it's good to see you Chief Cullen," he greeted Esme. "And this young man must be Jasper; it is a pleasure to meet you. Please follow me."

Doctor Swan led us into a small examination room off the emergency wing of the hospital. My fingers were frozen and still clenched in Edward's jacket, so Doctor Swan instructed Edward to sit with me on the examination table while he asked questions.

"How do you feel Jasper? A headache? Dizzy?"

"No, just a little tired."

"You're not in any pain at all?"

I thought about that one; dull aches came from different places, from when I'd collided with the pavement and then Edward's marble chest, "Just a little, but it's nothing; just from being jostled around. I'm just lucky that Edward was there to pull me out of the way. It's really thanks to him that I'm here in the condition I'm in."

Edward and Doctor Swan exchanged a quick glance which Esme missed, but I didn't. Doctor Swan seemed to be, maybe, warning Edward with the look in his eyes; or it might have been understanding, it might even have been a condition of both. I didn't think to make too much of it at the time.

"There doesn't seem to be anything major wrong with you Jasper, some pain killers will help; and a good night's sleep. If any other symptoms arise, please come see me immediately," he cautioned. I nodded.

"Thank you Doctor Swan, I'm sorry if I've caused any trouble."

"No trouble at all, I'm glad to help out at any time."

Esme looked at Doctor Swan for a moment, "Thank you Doctor Swan, for taking the time out of your schedule to look over my son; you should probably be getting back and seeing how Lauren's doing. She was pretty badly beat up from the accident."

"Well, go along Jasper," he stopped as Edward managed to dislodge my fingers and help me to my feet off the table. "Edward? Could you stay behind please? I'd like to talk to you."

"Of course Charlie. I'll see you tomorrow Jasper," He gave me a crooked smile that caused my heart to skip several beats; I flushed and nodded before scurrying out after Esme.

Once Esme and I were outside the hospital and in the cruiser, did she commence with her questioning, "So, Jasper, what do you make of Edward Swan?"

"Uh... he's very nice, a little confusing maybe, but a very good person overall," I think she could hear the admiring quality and tone in my voice. This could turn out ugly; if Esme found out that I was starting to nurture a crush on the handsome, mysterious Edward Swan... I didn't want to think about that.

"Yes, very nice. When the Swans first moved here two years ago, I was worried; all those teenagers! But they're all so well-behaved and polite! I never get any trouble from them, even though most of the town seems to think there's something not quite right about them, but some of the kids in town whose families have been in this town for generations have caused trouble," her voice was tight; but I could sense the admiration there. "They're a very model family. Hiking or Camping trips every other weekend."

"Really?"

"Yes. The doctor hasn't quite settled down yet though; he has a sister though, now I've never met her, she lives up in Port Angeles I believe. But when the doctor first started work at the hospital, many of the nurses were pursuing him; he turned them all down very nicely and politely. Not one to lead women on," I noted the slight red flush of her cheeks at that; looks like she'd been one of them. "So... do you _**like**_ Edward Swan?"

Oh... here comes the hell.

"I... I'm not sure yet mom, I barely know him... but he is _**very**_ attractive, so I guess that maybe..."

"Well, you know I have no problem with that. Love is love, no matter where it comes from." It might have been me, but Esme seemed to be more embarrassed about this conversation then I was.

"Mom? You're not... seeing someone new are you?"

"Well... I'm not sure if seeing someone is the correct way of putting it; we've only had a few casual outings together. But Renée is so very nice and considerate..." I gaped at Esme. _**My**_ mom, straight-laced Esme, perhaps in love with another woman? It didn't seem to fit with the image I'd always had of Esme in my head; this just hit me right out of left field. "Plus she's so very lovely... I didn't think that someone that beautiful would ever take an interest in someone as plain as me."

_Same here Esme, same here._

"Oh... well, I guess that's okay mom... good luck with it; I hope that you two make it."

She blushed, "Thanks Jasper." She smiled at me after a moment, "You're easy to live with Jasper; I'm glad you moved down, I'm too afraid to confide in anyone about this."

"Yeah? I'm glad that you think that way about me, mom." I returned the smile.

Her smile faltered for a moment, "You'll have to call Carlisle," she told me as we pulled into the driveway.

"**_What?!_** You told Carlisle?!"

"I'm sorry but... if there were complications or anything..." she muttered. I climbed out of the car and bound up the front stairs before she could finish. I hurriedly unlocked the door and raced to the phone in the kitchen.

Dialing Carlisle's home number, I was relieved that he was home. It didn't take too long for me to convince him that I was fine; yes, that a doctor had looked over me; and that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with me. I hung up and found an apologetic Esme standing in the door.

"I'm sorry about telling him Jasper..." I noticed that she was dressed a little nicer then usual. I raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going somewhere tonight mom?"

She colored again, "Yes, actually. I'm going out to meet Renée in Port Angeles for dinner and a movie; you'll be okay for the rest of the day, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine; don't worry. You go and have fun." Esme beamed, hugging me tightly before dashing out the door and to the cruiser. I watched her go from the kitchen window; glad that school had been cut short for me today. It was about noon right now, so I made myself a sandwich and took it upstairs to do some surfing on the internet and checking my email.

_Yeah, not much to do in Forks is there. You could come out next weekend, isn't that when Forks' high school dance is, isn't it? I know how you detest dances because no girl would ever go with you, so you're welcome to come out and visit me then. Unless you've actually got a girlfriend now? Dude, if you do I've gotta come down and meet her!_

_Anything else cool happen lately? Emmett._

I groaned, now I'd have to tell Emmett about it. I trusted Emmett more with my secrets than I did with Esme; mainly because Emmett and I had grown up a lot together, but also because he understood me best. Maybe he'd make better sense of what I was feeling then she would.

_Oh yeah... I forgot about that dance. Shit. Yeah, I'll figure out some excuse to get myself out of having to go; especially now with that near death experience. See, this girl at school, Lauren, nearly turned me into a pancake today; but luckily this guy, Edward Swan, was there. He tackled me out of the way of the truck, so I'm okay now; just a few bruises from the jostling._

_No, no luck with a girlfriend. I doubt I'll found one here; the girls are too stuck-up or too much of small town girls for my taste, but... you remember what I said earlier about that Edward Swan? Well, I think I might have a crush on him. He's really, really handsome, beautiful even, and I can't really keep my thoughts around him. What do you think? Jasper._

Hitting send I reclined in my chair and finished my sandwich. Taking my dishes back to the kitchen, cleaning them and putting them away; I went into the living room to figure out some way to spend the rest of the day. I'd play up the shock excuse for today; I didn't really want to go back to school.

Spending the rest of the afternoon watching Esme's collection of musicals; I fell asleep somewhere halfway through _The Phantom of the Opera_, and didn't wake up until Esme shook me awake.

"Mm? Oh, hey mom. How was your date?" I asked blearily, sitting up and rubbing my eyes; turning the TV and DVD player off.

"Perfect! Oh! Renée says that she'd love to meet you, she doesn't mind teenagers at all! Says her brother has several of his own and they're dears! Really, I don't think I could've found anyone anymore perfect then her!"

I gave a wane smile, "I'm happy for you Esme, I really am." I stifled a yawn, "Well I think I'll go to bed, school in the morning and all."

"Yes, goodnight Jasper! Good luck with Edward!"

I blushed and muttered a hurried thanks before fleeing to my room; mortified. I threw myself onto the bed, eventually falling asleep.

It was the first night I dreamed of Edward Swan.

And it wasn't the last.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:..:-o-:.**

There! I finished it today! I'm so proud! Anyways, I've been giving this story some more thought, and I've decided that I'm going to attempt to finish a chapter per week. Now, noting that I have a tendency to break promises like this; I'm not promising anything, this is just what I'm going to attempt. Again, no promises.

So... ARE YOU GOING TO REVIEW? I hope so! I look at the hit count for this story, and then I look at the review count, and it doesn't add up. I'd really like reviews, they make me extremely happy to know that people out there other then myself enjoy reading this story. So please, PLEASE review!

Anyways, Renée made her first, sort of, appearance in the story; and more characters will appear soon! Stick around for the next chapter!

Twilight.


	5. Chapter 4: Falling Inside the Black

**A/N:** Haha, I spent a lot of this weekend watching Final Fantasy: Unlimited for some reason, and most of the week reading Tsubasa. So I apologize for that. Anyways, I've been working on these two one-shots lately, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in reading them. They're Bleach and Tsubasa; and the former, which is nearing completion, is turning out to be pretty long. I'd appreciate a beta for them, so if anyone's interested, just mention it in your comment.  
Oh, and before I forget. This chapter deals with Jasper's education back home; I'm not from BC and I've never attended school there, so I apologize to those native to that province for the HUGE inaccuracies I'm dealing to it. If anyone's wondering, it's based off as much as I know of the Alberta education system. Thanks.  
**Words:** 5 931 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I should mention that Bleach and its characters don't belong to me either; they're the property of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter 4: Falling Inside the Black**

For once I slept soundly. It was a first for me in Forks in the month I'd been here for. I'd managed to sleep through the entire night without being kept awake by the wind or the pelting rain. So I was incredibly happy about that. Another plus was that I didn't fall out of bed this morning; I actually climbed out of bed and got ready for school without the usual dull ache in my backside that accompanied my uncoordinated tumble to the floor.

Today was looking like it would be a good day.

Starting off in a cheerful mood, I was trying to (mostly) ignore the crazy events of the day before. I wasn't in a hurry to get ready for school; I'd gotten up early enough to take my time, but as I was getting dressed, I heard Esme's cruiser leaving the house. That was when I realized that I didn't have any way to get to school except walking.

Damn.

Cursing my horrid luck, and Lauren for causing the accident, I jogged down the stairs. Quickly I grabbed something to eat before heading for the door. I was suddenly glad I'd gotten up so early; it would take a while for me to walk to Forks High. It wasn't an experience I was looking forward to.

Life really, really hated me at this point.

I'd slung my bag over my shoulder, locked the door, and was just heading down the walkway when I noticed the silver Volvo parked in the driveway and the Greek god leaning against it. My heart hammered fast and heavy in my chest and my throat constricted.

It was Edward.

"Hello," he greeted me with a smile. I noticed that his eyes smoldered when he looked at me, but that angry edge to them had vanished. I couldn't figure out why; I wasn't sure I wanted too. What mattered to me right then was that he was acknowledging my existence.

"Hi." Lame, Jasper, lame.

"Your Jeep isn't in any shape to be driven, and I thought that you would maybe appreciate a ride to school. Would you like me to drive you?" He kept smiling at me, I figured he was oblivious to the bright red flush that was painted across my cheeks; I figured that was good.

"Um... I wouldn't want to force you out of your way..." I mumbled. "I mean, I don't want you to feel obligated in anyway to look after me... walking is fine."

Edward frowned a little, "Maybe in Vancouver, but it can get pretty bad here. Besides, I don't feel any obligation to drive you, it's something that _**I**_ would like to do." I flushed darker at that. Pull it together Jasper! Just because the hottest guy in school seems to have an interest in you and wants to drive you to school doesn't mean that he necessarily wants anything more from you other than friendship!

I wouldn't get my hopes up; I didn't want them to be crushed. "Oh... well I guess then. Thanks." I gave him a sheepish smile.

"It's really nothing Jasper," he stood up properly, and I found that I had to look up at him a little; he was four inches taller then I was. He surprised me, opening the passenger's door for me. "After you."

And who says chivalry is dead? I suppose that I'm not a woman, in any sense of the word, but maybe he treated me like this because I sort of had a fragile appearance? Coming from him I found that I didn't mind it so much; I felt... _**special**_.

Sliding into the seat, I dropped my bag onto the floor and buckled my seat belt. Edward walked calmly around the front of the car before climbing into the driver's seat. I watched him, envious of how he could move with such overt grace; not to mention a little in awe. Was everything he did so graceful and perfect?

"How do you feel?" he asked as we pulled out onto the street.

"If this is about the accident, then I'm fine. Really. Just a few bruises, but they'll heal; there's no permanent damage." I smiled at him this time; genuinely. He watched me for a few moments.

"You should do that more often."

I was confused, "Do what? Get involved in more car accidents?"

He shook his head, chuckling, "Not that, of course! I meant you should smile like that more often."

I blushed, "R-really? I don't think I have a great smile..."

"It's more the... thought behind it, I suppose. All the other smiles I've seen you give people, they seem fake. This one was genuine; you should smile like that more often, I like it."

That gave me something to think about. He liked my smile? I thought about it long and hard; if he liked my smile... then... oh god! The cheesy thoughts were overwhelming me now! Lovely! Abso-fucking-perfect. I sighed, I wasn't going to mention this out loud. If he like my smile, then I'd smile for him. The odd thing was, I felt happy when I knew he was happy.

Edward looked over at me, "Something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

I flushed. Sheesh! How perceptive could he be?! "No, it's nothing. I was just wondering... um... would I be able to get my CD out of my Jeep?"

"Well, what CD was it?"

"It was a present from my cousin Emmett. He got it for me for my last birthday; _Dark Passion Play_ by Nightwish," I was pretty sure that he hadn't heard of it. Even the hardcore music fans at my old school hadn't known too much about them, or listened to them; but here, I doubted anyone would even want to listen to them. Symphonic metal didn't seem like small town music to play.

He grinned, "A metal fan? I never figured you as one Jasper."

"Not hardcore metal, I only like symphonic metal really. I couldn't get into the other stuff really; but I like that band a lot," I muttered. "Now I keep most of their CDs with me; Esme threatens to throw them out cause she _**hates**_ them."

Edward smiled, "Here, why don't you put one in? I don't mind listening to them. The only thing that I can't put up with is country; I've never heard Nightwish's music before, so I think it would be an educational experience."

"But..."

"I'll probably be driving you a lot aren't I? I mean, cars are a hard thing to come by in Forks; and I really don't mind. I'd enjoy getting to know you Jasper," he gave me this perfect crooked smile that seemed to melt my heart and what little of my resolve was left.

"Okay. There's no harm I guess..." I reached into my bag; pulling out _Wishmaster_. Taking it out of the case, I popped it into the CD player, and waited patiently for it to load. Soon, the sounds of guitar and base from the first track, _She Is My Sin_. I hummed along, watching Edward's face as the song continued playing.

_'Take heed, dear heart. Once apart, she can touch nor me nor you. Dressed as one, a wolf will betray a lamb.'_

I noticed the slight tensing of his muscles as he seemed to be able to make sense of the lyrics. I was surprised he could do that on a first listen; it had taken me about five to be able to make the lyrics out at all. Tarja Turunen, while her voice was certainly good, was often hard to make out on several of the tracks; while the new vocalist, Anette Olzon, was easier to understand. I didn't have a personal preference for either of the singers, unlike a lot of fans, mainly because I liked the sound of the band and had been a little late getting on the bandwagon.

The silence remained for a while before Edward spoke again, "About yesterday..."

"There's nothing to say about yesterday, Edward," I replied, suddenly nervous. A million scenarios of what he could want to say rushed through my head, some cutting me deeper then others, while others had the potential to life make heart feel like it would burst; I cut him off before he could say anything. "You saved my life, thank you Edward."

"I wasn't going to say that I regretted it or anything, I wanted to apologize. It's partly my fault that it happened," he turned his scorching eyes on me and my heart thudded erratically.

"What do you mean? Lauren lost-"

"No, Lauren meant to try and hit you," Edward turned his head back to look at the road, his features hard with anger and his hands tight on the steering wheel. "I... overheard her mentioning to Jessica how you were getting so much attention; even from me, something that she's never been able to do. But I didn't think she would go this far."

I was shocked, to put it simply. I knew that Lauren didn't like me, but I didn't think that she loathed me so much that she'd try to kill me, "She tried to... kill me?!"

Edward's hands loosened a little on the wheel, "I wouldn't go so far as to say that, I doubt she had the intent to kill you. I think it was more an attempt to inure you enough to scare you off so that you'd leave and she could take her place back as the center of attention."

"Oh..." I looked down at my knees. "But she'll have that position now though, right? I mean, she's the one who's injured; not me."

"We'll have to see," Edward still seemed angry; but then he asked something else. "Jasper? Talk about yourself for a little, please. I need to focus on something other then yesterday, you don't mind if I ask a few questions?"

"Go right ahead." I wasn't sure why I was so anxious for him to learn about me; but most of my being hoped that he liked what he got from me.

"What do you miss most about Vancouver?"

I thought about that one before answering, "Vancouver's a bit like this place, climate wise. It rains a lot here and there too; but I like the rain so it's okay. What I miss the most is probably just the familiarity that I had there; here a lot of things I'm not used too. The schooling too, it's why I'm messed up in math because of the different systems. Here it's imperial and back home it's metric; I have to relearn the entire measuring system."

Edward smiled a little and my heart trilled, he continued, "What was your best subject? Your favorite?"

"English, probably. It's the only subject that really doesn't change too much; but History is good too. I was in Social Studies AP back in Vancouver; which was basically history."(1)

"Why did you take AP in the first place?"

"It was mostly Carlisle's idea; he noticed how I'd get bored in a lot of my classes during junior high, so he suggested that I look into IB and AP. IB was too much work for me, so I decided that I'd take AP instead and I'm happy with that choice. I don't get bored in classes, and you're pretty much guaranteed the best teachers who will be incredibly passionate about what they teach. The only subject that I didn't take AP in was math; it's not a strong point of mine, so I didn't bother. But I continued with English and Social Studies, but also Biology."

He nodded, "I see. What about pets?"

"I had a fish at one point, but it died. I never got another pet after that, though I'd like one, but it's too much work; and Carlisle was hardly ever home and I had to do the housework. We didn't have the time to really devote to a pet."

"What about friends? They must have been upset to hear that you were moving."

"Not really, I didn't have many friends. I was always sort of the odd one out at school; most of my friends were across the country. I've moved away from Vancouver sometimes with Carlisle's work and all, but I've never really had any good friends. The only one you could count, I guess, is my cousin Emmett. He lives in Seattle so he was thrilled that I was moving down here."

As we pulled into the school parking lot, I noticed that the cars from the accident had been removed but that there was still some shattered auto glass in the area where it had happened. Edward cut the engine and let out a heavy sigh; something I'd never heard from him before. He climbed out of the car and I quickly followed; he came to stand in front of me, almost pinning me against his car with the closeness.

"I'm glad you're alive Jasper. You don't know how relieved and happy I am," he whispered; our faces closer then they had been a few moments ago. My heart pounded and my mind was on stand-by as one thought raced through it.

Is he going to kiss me?!

But then he pulled away from me just as suddenly as he'd leaned in, frowning, "But even so... I'm not good for you. You're best interest would be to stay away from me."

My heart clenched at that and a wave of depression washed through me. His hands were in fists again and I reached out unknowingly, but I quickly pulled my hand back; afraid that maybe he wouldn't want me to touch him. Instead, "I don't think you're dangerous, Edward, if that's what you mean. I... feel safe with you; which is more then I can say of anyone else. I want to be your friend."

_Or maybe more._

The idea of that startled me, but he seemed... put at ease with my response; but there was still that wary edge to his eyes. He smiled at me then, our eyes meeting, gently, he raised his hand and brushed his knuckles along my cheek, "Thank you, Jasper."

My cheeks took on a red hue at that, and his smile lost a little more of that hard edge that it had then, making it look more natural; happier. The corners of my lips tugged up a little too.

I hadn't realized that we were sharing this pretty intimate moment in a parking lot, at school, until a heavily bandaged Lauren was attached to my arm. Edward stepped back; all traces of happiness and tenderness gone from his face, replaced instead with a cold fury.

Before Lauren even looked up at me, I knew she was pissed off. Obviously she had hoped that I'd sustain some kind of injury, which I hadn't thanks to Edward's intervention, but now Edward was obviously more interested in me then her. She turned her eyes up to me, and I could see the anger swimming in her storm blue eyes despite the fake look of apology on her face.

"I'm so sorry Jasper! I can't believe that I lost control of the car like that!" she gushed, false sincerity in her words and manner. I tried to detach my arm from her grip, but it was like a vice. "I hit the ice a little too hard. You're okay aren't you?"

I played along; I could see Jessica and Mike standing a little ways off. I didn't expect any help from them, I'd have to get out of this situation myself, "I'm fine Lauren. I'm lucky Edward was there to pull me out of the way."

She turned her eyes to Edward, "Oh thank you so much Edward! If I'd hurt Jasper then I don't know what I'd have done!"

Edward glared at her, and she involuntarily shrunk back against me. Even I was a little frightened by the almost murderous gleam in his eyes as he looked at her, "It was nothing."

Her attention was then back on me, but I could see the hopeful look she was giving Edward, "You have to let me make it up to you Jasper! How about you come with me to the dance next weekend? I promise that you'll have a good time!"

Was it just me or was there innuendo in that last part?

Somehow, I managed to extricate myself from her grip, "Sorry Lauren, but I'm visiting my cousin that weekend. And it's really not necessary; I'm fine so you don't have to make it up to me."

"But!"

Suddenly Edward was there, his tone gave the feeling that the matter was closed, "Lauren, it's obvious that Jasper isn't interested in attending the dance with you. I'm sure that Tyler would be more then happy to take you."

She gaped at him, mouth open like a fish for a few moments before she snapped back, "I didn't mean any harm, Edward," I hated how she said his name, "But I'd like to hear it from Jasper."

The attention was back on me now, I looked to the ground to avoid her glare, "Edward's right; I'm not really a dance person. You'd have more fun if you went with someone else."

"Fine, well there's always prom." She stormed off; even though I could tell that she'd meant to walk off calmly, but Edward had set something off in her that had her pretty angry. I sighed in relief once she was gone and looked up. Jessica and Mike were gone now; they'd probably gone off to check on Lauren. Mike didn't seem to like Lauren all that much; but I could tell that Jessica and her were probably 'best friends'.

I turned to Edward who was glaring in the direction that Lauren had left in; I took a deep breath which caught his attention, "Thanks Edward." It might have been my imagination, but it always seemed that his face softened whenever he looked at me; the anger wasn't so harsh now. It was still there, but it wasn't as prominent.

He forced a smile, "It's nothing Jasper."

I shifted a little, uncomfortable with the full force of his eyes on me. With nothing else really left to say, I was at a loss. Edward seemed more stable now, the anger fading from his gorgeous features; he took a step towards me.

"How about I walk you to class?"

Not sure what to think of that, I nodded my head, "Sure..."

He fell into step beside me easily, the electricity in the air between us was strong; like it was during Biology. For some reason, it felt incredibly right for him to be at my side like this, and I to be at his. It was almost scary; the intensity of the feelings that I was developing for him, I'd never felt like this before in my life and it was near unnerving in the way it just seemed to _**click**_.

I didn't think, or believe, that I'd feel like this about anyone else.

Ever.

I took an extra step without noticing that he'd stopped. We were outside my English classroom, I turned back to face him, about to say that I'd see him later, hopefully; but I was stopped suddenly. His intense golden eyes were locked onto mine and I shivered from the force of them; of all the emotions that I could see swirling in them, some I could name and others I couldn't.

Almost painstakingly slowly, he reached up and brushed my cheek with his knuckles the exact same way he'd done so earlier. Before I could react, he was gone, walking away in the opposite direction we'd come from. I could feel the slight flush in my cheeks, but I hurried into English anyways.

Luckily class hadn't started yet, so I was able to slip into my seat without anyone being the wiser. Five minutes later, the bell went off. Jessica and Mike took their normal seats on either side of me; the former looked straight ahead with a displeased look on her face, but Mike immediately turned to me to talk to me.

"Hey Jaz, look just so you know, Lauren's really-"

"It's okay Mike, I'm just... not looking for a girlfriend right now. And besides, I honestly don't like dances," I responded, pointedly staring at my desk. Mike didn't seem to take the clue.

"That wasn't what I meant; what I meant was that you did a pretty good thing. Lauren can be downright cruel when she wants to be. She'd only be using you to get to Swan; she's been after him ever since he arrived here. But he's never taken an interest in anyone before, so it's kind of like she's been wasting her time and been the sole person to try and win his affections. But now that he seems to be taking a liking to you... it's the first time she's had competition."

So Lauren wanted me out of the picture because she wanted Edward? Something seemed to snap inside me and a rush of anger surged through me; Lauren was the shallow type of girl who only wanted the best of everything, and in this case, it was Edward Swan. For the first time, I realized that I just might be in love with him.

In love with Edward Swan.

Right then I wanted to slam my head into the desk and ignore everything around me, because, I couldn't have fallen so quickly and easily into love; it just wasn't possible. Was it? I didn't know; I had no romantic experiences to rely on to be able to help me out. Literally, I was flying by the seat of my pants.

Besides the warm blossoming in my heart at the realization, there was also this dread that surfaced. While it would take some time for me to be able to come to terms with how I felt about Edward Swan, I had entirely no idea how he felt about me. The dread stemmed from this, because, it was very possible (and the most likely scenario) that he wouldn't be interested in me that way; that he only like women.

That mere fact alone cut me deeper then anything else had so far.

For the rest of class, and the morning, I remained quiet and unresponsive; trying to sort through every encounter, touch, expression, word, and phrase that Edward had given me. There wasn't really much to go on; but the softer look to his face and the brushes from his hands that he'd given me this morning seemed to point that he _**just maybe**_ did feel something for me that was beyond platonic.

Thoughts of that consumed me until we reached the cafeteria. Jessica had apparently forgiven me at this point for shooting Lauren down when we saw said girl hanging off of Tyler and looking might pleased with herself. I grabbed a soda, the butterflies in my stomach were wreaking havoc, so I didn't believe that I could stomach anything else.

"So how many girls asked you to the dance Jaz?" Jessica giggled. "About ten, am I right?" Her giggle didn't seem real to me; but I noticed the sulky look on Mike's face as he left us quickly. "But you're just letting them down politely, aren't you? Because you're just waiting for the right girl to ask out? You're not really going to Seattle are you?"

I looked at Jessica; astounded that she could see so... dense. She grinned up at me and continued, "So, will you go to the dance with me, then?"

Then it hit me; this is why Mike had been sulking, because Jessica was planning to ask me to the dance instead of him. This. Was. Great. High school romance sucked; I hated it with a passion already. Now I had to explain it to Jessica, who obviously didn't quite get it, "Jess, I _**am**_ going to Seattle that weekend. Really, you should ask Mike, if you don't hurry up someone else will. I'm not going to be in town _**at all**_ that day, so you might as well ask him and enjoy yourself."

Her cheerful smile slipped into a frown, "Oh really? Well... okay. I was going to ask him anyways, but I just thought that maybe I could try to play hard-to-get."

That seemed to tick me off a little; I didn't like being used in these stupid games that girls played to see how much a guy liked them. I was following Jessica to the table, when she stopped suddenly and I nearly ran into her.

"Edward Swan is staring at you," she muttered, darkly almost. "I wonder why he's sitting separate from his family?"

I looked around her. It was true; Edward was sitting across the cafeteria from his family at an unoccupied table, the moment that he saw that I'd spotted him, he smiled. Raising a hand, he bent two fingers; obviously telling me to come over. I swallowed and my face flushed as I looked down.

"He means _**you**_?!"

I didn't know whether to be complimented or insulted by her obviously jealous tone of voice.

"Maybe it has to with Biology or something; I'll go see what he wants." Leaving Jessica, I walked over to him, nearly tripping over my own two feet on the way. He raised an eyebrow at me as I slid into a seat across from him.

"Are you always this well-coordinated?" he asked, his tone light and joking.

I flushed darker, "Not usually no." _Just around him._

He smiled at me, "You're popular with the ladies. Not just letting them down easily are you?"

"I can't dance; and I'm not interested," I replied, wanting to get off the subject that was embarrassing me the most at this moment. "Um... what did you want?"

His smile didn't falter, "I hear you're planning to go to Seattle that weekend." I nodded. "Well, I was just curious, how did you plan on getting there when you have no car?"

I nearly banged my head onto the table in my stupidity. How the hell could I have not noticed that?! It was incredibly obvious and yet I'd failed to see it, "... I'll ask Esme for a ride or something..." Oh the embarrassment that would bring.

Edward seemed to take pity on me, because he didn't poke fun at me at all, "I'd be happy to offer you a ride, you know, go with you to Seattle. I was planning on going there anyways, and this way it works out for the both of us doesn't it?"

"I... I guess." My heart thudded in an erratic rhthym in my chest and euphoria flooded through me. I had a nice, long car ride with him to look forward too, as well as a day with him; my heart swelled and threatened to burst at the happiness it felt. "Thanks."

"It's no problem, Jasper." He seemed to debate a moment, "Jasper, can I ask you a few more questions?"

"Yeah, you can ask whatever you like." It was almost a perverse desire of mine now for him to know everything about me; anything that might catch and hold his interest was precious to me. I wanted to spend more time with him, as much time as I possibly could.

"Who is your favorite author?"

"Hm. I'd have to say Agatha Christie or Shakespeare. What about you?"

He grinned, "Charles Dickens and Shakespeare. Now let's see, what's something that interests you a lot? Something that you spend much of your free time dedicated too?"

I blushed and looked away, "Anime and videogames."

"Really? You're into Japanese animation?" I nodded. "What series is your favorite?"

"Probably Bleach at the moment, but it changes." He nodded.

"What other series' do you like?"

"Um. Hellsing, Trinity Blood, Ouran High School Host Club, Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles, and Death Note; but not in that order."

Edward was smiling almost wistfully, leaning back a little in his chair, "Well, it looks like I've got a little homework to do."

"What do you mean?" I was curious now; didn't he already have homework from his classes this morning? Was he changing the subject on me?

"I'll have to look them up, then read or watch them a little. It will give us something to talk about, right? Other then classic literature of course. You know, I never took you as a murder-mystery type of reader."

The bell rang, but we continued talking as we walked to Biology. I'd never felt so comfortable with a person before, so able to spill my guts to them and even say things that I would normally have never dared too. Normally it should have been scary, but it seemed that much more natural with Edward.

Even during the class we talked a lot, the few silences weren't awkward at all; instead they felt... right. Like this was how we were supposed to be. I felt that I maybe did have a chance with him; but I squashed that hope fast. Nothing could compare to the heartache that would await me if I let myself hope falsely.

When class ended, Edward once more escorted me to my next class. Now I felt a little more shy, especially because of all the eyes on us; on me. I wasn't used to being in the spotlight of attention like this and I was more then just a little uncomfortable. Edward left me with another gentle brush across my cheek and the words, "Be careful."

Then he was gone again.

We were doing volleyball in Gym again today, and I was worse then usual with my thoughts distracted. I missed almost all the shots that were aimed at me, and I served into the net. The other team managed to smoke me in the side of the head pretty hard and I ended up spending the rest of the class on the bench, an ice pack pressed to my head.

The only good thing about having to sit out meant that I'd be the first one out the door. I was out of there like a bolt of lightning when the bell rang; but the head injury had messed with my balance and I nearly face-planted into the sidewalk outside the gym. Luckily, Edward was there to catch me before I could do so.

A disapproving look was on his face as he examined the bruise on my left temple, "What happened?" He asked as he steadied me, his arm around my shoulders; I sagged into him, exhausted from my emotional rollercoaster.

"Nothing. I got distracted and someone on the other team smoked me in the side of the head with a nasty spike." I didn't mention the fact that it had been Lauren who had done so; I just had the feeling that that wasn't the right thing to say. Edward's frown persisted as he helped me to the parking lot, setting me down in the passenger seat and making sure that I was buckled in. He walked calmly around to the driver's side and climbed in. I looked over at the red convertible parked beside it; and wondered whose it was.

"Admiring Rosalie's car?" Edward asked as we pulled out into the parking lot, I snapped my attention back to him.

"It's Rosalie's?"

"Yeah, we do try to blend in, you know. But I can't fit them plus you in here; besides, I think Rosalie's happier that she gets to drive herself now, she's a rather independent person."

"What type of car is it?" I asked, noticing that a lot of the guys were now gathered around it; drooling.

"It's an M3." I stared blankly at him; he smiled and chuckled a little in amusment at my obvious lack of knowledge regarding the world of automobiles. "It's a BMW."

"Ah, makes sense."

We pulled out onto the road, one of the first cars out of the lot. Edward was watching me carefully out of the corner of his eye, I noticed that his eyes seemed rather fixated on my bruise. I sighed.

"I'll be fine Edward, really. It's nothing serious, Coach Clapp looked me over; it's just a nasty bump," I tried to reassure him. "Some painkillers and ice and I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

He didn't reply as we pulled up into the driveway, only when I was about to shut the car door after I'd exited did he speak, "I always worry about you; and that's why I can't leave."

His cryptic words confused me, but I didn't have time to reply as the door had slammed shut and he was pulling out of the driveway. I watched him go with wide eyes and a confounded expression.

There was definitely something about Edward Swan that wasn't normal.

And I was going to find out.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

DONE! I don't have much longer so I'm typing this author's note up in a hurry. I hope you enjoyed this and I can't wait to see what everyone says about it in the reviews that I'm hoping that you're all going to leave. And by the way, expect a fast follow up chapter to this; I'm on a bit of a roll here so I'm going to roll with it till the inspiration dries up.

Now I'm going to go to bed and sleep, so that at least I'll be well rested when I fail my math test tomorrow and mess up in my small ensemble performance due to nerves.

I'll be seeing you soon!

Twilight.


	6. Chapter 5: The Weakness in Me

**A/N:** Well, this was started during Legal Studies class, and I'm finishing it up at home. You'll all be happy because of the quicker update, I'm sure. But you know, it takes a few good long hours of writing to get the chapters completed. I'm currently wishing that I wasn't flat broke because I want to buy a whole bunch of new CDs, and I'd like to get my hands on Breaking Benajmin's. Anyways, here's the next one!  
Haha, I'm accident prone myself! I've been to the emergency room three times so far, and a walk-in clinic once, plus numerous other small accidents... err... except that time when I was three with the wine glasses...  
**Words:** 4 155 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I should mention that Bleach and its characters don't belong to me either; they're the property of Tite Kubo.

**Chapter 5: The Weakness in Me**

I was right about the painkillers. My head was pounding like mad when I stumbled into the house, so the first thing that I did was dry swallow two Tylenols before flopping onto the couch and closing my eyes. The dull pounding in my head was making it near impossible to think, but it eventually faded and I was able to concentrate more easily on an issue that had been nagging at me for a while.

There was something not normal about Edward Swan.

I snorted, it was more then that. There was no way that I could believe he was human; for one thing, humans don't have the strength to leave dents in cars. Plus, no human could've moved as fast as he had to get to me; but I couldn't make the pieces fit together to make a coherent idea of what he _**could**_ be. I lay there for another few minutes, until the phone rang.

Groaning, I hauled myself off the couch and into the kitchen, I picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Oh! Hey Jaz!" It was Jessica. "So listen, Angela and I were planning to go into Port Angeles to shop for dresses right? Well Ang mentioned that you're a reader, and there's a book shop there, so we were wondering if you'd like to come with?"

"You know Jess, it's fine, I mean I'm going to Seattle so-"

"Aw c'mon please!" she pleaded over the phone, I sighed. "Besides, it'll give you a chance to get out of town for a while, so please?"

I sighed, I knew I wasn't going to get out of this any time soon, "... alright, fine. When are you going?"

"Next Tuesday, I have a date with Mike on Monday," she gushed. "Thanks so much Jaz! I'll see you!" She hung up. I groaned and went back to the couch; turning the TV on and zoning out to some random show that happened to be on the Discovery Channel.

Apparently I'd fallen asleep because the next thing I remember was Esme shaking me awake; I could smell pizza, looking out the window, I realized that it was late in the evening.

"Oh, sorry mom, I didn't mean to fall asleep; it's been a long day," I sat up. Esme looked me over worriedly.

"Maybe you should've stayed home..." Esme bit her lip as she placed a plate with pizza on it on the table and a glass of milk. "I mean..." She spotted the bruise on my temple, "Oh my god! What happened Jasper?!" She immediately tilted my head to get a better look at it. "Did you fall?! Were you in a fight?!"

"No!" I answered, shooting up. My head felt a little woozy, but I was fine otherwise. "Gym accident. I took a spike to the side of the head during volleyball, that's all."

She lightly touched the bruised area, her face slipping from panic and anger into a frown, "You're so... I don't know Jasper... fragile maybe." Esme didn't seem to like that description, so she continued, "It's like... you always need someone around to protect you because you have the worst luck with accidents."

I groaned; that... might just be true. I had the odd habit of being a little accident prone; but not to the extent that it was crippling, however, I'd had my fair share of accidents. I'd broken my foot when I was twelve after tripping at a movie theater and falling down the stairs(1), and I'd managed to, somehow, and I'd wound up at the hospital after Carlisle had been involved with a crash with a drunk driver (nothing too serious, I was only in for a week or two).

But apparently Esme was a little more concerned, seeing as I'd had a near-death experience followed by a gym accident the next day. I guess she had reason to worry; she's my mom, she might think that someone's out to get me.

"Mom, it's not really that big of a deal..." I muttered. "You can't look after me every minute of the day; it's not possible. And besides, I'm seventeen, I'm not a kid anymore."

Esme sighed, "I know that, but... I'm still your mom and that means that I have every reason to worry about you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks mom."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The next day proceeded a lot like the previous one. Edward picked me up in the morning and bombarded me with questions; the first things he asked were related to my accident in gym the day before, which I assured him that I was fine. It wasn't anything serious anyways. I was surprised to find that he'd caught himself up on the three hundred plus chapters of Bleach, but he had. Today he started off with quizzing me on my favorite characters.

"My favorite? It would have to be... Kuchiki Byakuya," I nodded. "It's hard to choose though, there a lot of good characters."

"I noticed. Which other ones do you like?"

"Um. Hitsugaya, Renji... Hisagi," I thought about it a little more. "Ichimaru too, even though he betrayed, and Grimmjaw and Ulquiorra."

Edward nodded, "That's a bit of an eclectic group of characters. I didn't get around to any of the others, but when I do, you can tell me more about your favorites." He smiled at me, "Some of the manga is... interesting."

"Well, it depends on the type you're reading; especially if you read the shojo stuff." He gave me a funny look, so I elaborated, "Shojo? It's manga or anime that's aimed at the female audience. Ouran High School Host Club is a shojo manga."

He raised an eyebrow, "If it's aimed at females, then why are you reading it?" I blushed and looked away.

I muttered, "... is it such a big thing? Guys can like shojo manga too."

"I suppose, but I never expected something like that from you." He looked over to me, "I was looking at the site that I found to read manga on, but some of the series' you mentioned had been taken down. What do you suggest?"

"There are other sites out there, you know. Or you could actually go out and buy the volumes that have been released here; I only do that with series' I like, and I couldn't bring all of them with me." That was one of the things that I'd been bitter about, and still was; the fact that I couldn't bring my entire manga collection with me to Forks. The majority of it I'd left in my room in Vancouver; where it took up most of my bookshelf. "I could ask Carlisle to send them to me if you want, most of mine are in Vancouver."

"That's fine, I can easily buy them myself. Besides, I wouldn't want to cause your father any inconvenience." He seemed to be a better mood today; his eyes were still a warm shade of molten gold, and they scorched with something I couldn't name whenever they looked my way. I couldn't help but let my heart feel lifted every time he smiled at me or looked my way.

He'd left my Nightwish CD in the car from yesterday, and I was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed them.

"You didn't seem to be the type of person who'd like Nightwish; I put you down for more of a classical music or jazz kind of person," I commented; a little surprised as he quietly sang along to the lyrics. He grinned.

"It's... different, I'll give you that much. But it just takes a little getting used to, they're good, actually." I was happy; more happy then I'd been in a while. Maybe I did stand some sort of chance with Edward, if he was so... interested in what I was interested in and seemed to actually _like_ what I did. "You're a very captivating individual, Jasper." His tone was like velvet; deep and sensual. I nearly melted into a puddle of goo right there. Control, Jasper, control.

"No I'm not, I'm the farthest thing from being captivating. I'm probably the most boring and uninteresting person you'll ever meet," I normally didn't put myself down out loud; in fact, I typically avoided thinking of myself at all. But when I did, this was what I'd come up with; I couldn't actually be what he wanted, I was so convinced that I was the opposite of that. Still, it didn't change the fact of what I wanted to be to him.

He gave me a hard look, reprimanding me with his eyes, "You should give yourself more credit, Jasper. I happen to think that you're captivating, someone who..." He stopped himself there. "I shouldn't say that, I'm putting you into enough danger as it is."

My mind raced as it tried to complete his sentence, but it all was nearly eclipsed by that last sentence. I shook my head, "That's not true, I mean... I feel safe... when I'm with you."

Edward sighed, we were pulling into the parking lot now, "I was worried about that. But... as things are now, I suppose that it's too late for me to pull back. Still, it's better that we don't become friends; I'm not good for you. You'd be smart to avoid me."

I nearly shivered at the implied danger behind his words; but he was right. It was too late, whether that was for me or for him or for the both of us, I didn't know. But it was true, truer then anything I'd thought could ever be, "You've already established that I'm not that intelligent, so then that does mean that we're... friends then?"

"Yes, that sounds correct."

He cut the engine, taking the time before he got out to shoot me another of those perfect crooked smiles; my heart skipped several beats and my mind was on standby. I managed to stumble out of the car, nearly face-planting into the sidewalk again but catching myself at the last moment. Edward smiled and chuckled softly.

"Are you sure that you're not always this clumsy?"

"I'm not usually... more or less I'm prone to accidents." He was there then, beside me as I stood up. His golden eyes were locked on the bruise on my temple; it hadn't faded in the slightest. Lightly, his right hand came up and his fingers touched it gently.

"Whoever hit this put a lot of force into it... maybe you should have stayed home today Jasper," he suggested. I sighed, trying to force myself to concentrate on answering him instead of that he was touching me; it was more then a little difficult.

"No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me so much Edward, things like this are bound to happen. I'm terrible at gym so accidents are to be expected." He frowned and his hand dropped, he seemed deep in thought.

"I could have you pulled out of that class, if you like."

"As nice as that sounds, I'm not too sure that it would look too good," I noticed how everyone was staring at us out of the corner of my eyes; that's how I realized just how close we were standing. I flushed, I didn't like being in the spotlight and I was right now! But I didn't want to leave just yet. "You know how people talk."

He smiled at me, "Of course, I hadn't thought of that." But his eyes said that he had; I frowned, but my cheeks were still warm and pink. "It's an open offer, however, if you want to be pulled from the course, I'm sure that I could arrange it for you."

"And what could I do with that spare period?" I asked as we fell into step with each other as he walked me towards English.

"That all depends on how you'd like to spend it, it's a little late in the year to start a new course. Maybe you would like to spend it with me?" I nearly tripped and dropped my books in shock; instead of doing that, I just skidded to a stop, my mouth and eyes wide.

The way he'd said it made it seem like we were _**dating**_, and I wasn't sure if I should ask that or not. But it was an extremely tempting offer, I'd have to think it over, "Well... let me think about it Edward."

"Of course, I realize that it's something that will take you some time to decide. You can answer it whenever you've chosen." We were standing in front of the classroom, people filing by us and staring as they walked in. Edward paused, a torn look on his face.

"I'll be fine. What could possibly be dangerous about English class?" I asked sarcastically; he smiled at me.

"Yes, there shouldn't be anything to worry about." He said this more to himself then to me, but I was watching his face carefully. The fact that he seemed... almost to be in pain made me wonder exactly what was going on in his mind; he was incredibly hard to read emotion-wise. "I'll see you after then." I nodded, and before he left, he traced my cheek with his knuckles again; just like yesterday.

I stood there dumbly for a few seconds before blushing a dark crimson again and scurrying into the classroom; hurrying to my seat at the back of the room. The seats on either side of me were still empty; Jessica and Mike weren't here yet, perhaps doing something together?

Not really caring, I spent the entirity of English zoning out. Luckily, Mr. Mason never called on me, so I was free to daydream and think on Edward's offer. On the one hand, it was extremely tempting because it would get me out of a class which I detested, but it would also let me spend more time with him; something I was extremely eager to do. But then, there was the fact that people would talk about that. I wasn't too worried about myself and being alienated, because I was used to it, but I was worried about him. Certainly his family wouldn't, well, take the rumors too well that their youngest sibling was dating another boy; even if they knew it wasn't true. I didn't want to sully his reputation; I would be the last person to do so.

Still... the offer was too tempting for me to pass over. I really, really wanted to accept it. I almost didn't notice the bell ringing, but when I did, I left the class.

Mike met me at the door; so I guessed that I was forgiven for everything that had happened yesterday. He was talking about some game that he'd seen last night; I tuned the entire thing out.

"So... you're dating Edward Cullen?"

I glared at Mike, hard, "No I'm not."

"Uh huh," he sounded unconvinced and I could sense the waves of disbelief coming off of him. "I don't think you should be seeing him Jaz; he looks at you when you're not looking like you're food. It's a little scary."

My entire being seemed to thrum at that, but I refused to acknowledge what he said. "You're imagining things Mike. Edward and I aren't like that."

He stared at me hard until we parted ways. Jessica was bubbling over with talk for the rest of the morning; which I mostly tuned out, still focused on what I considered an extremely important matter.

Lunch came quickly, and I let myself be guided there by Jessica. I looked to the Cullens' table, but Edward wasn't there, before my heart could sink; there was a light tapping on my shoulder. I turned to find myself staring up into a flawlessly perfect, pale face with two scorching molten eyes peering down into mine.

I think someone needs to restart my heart.

Jessica turned a bright red as Edward spoke, "Hello Jasper. Do you mind if you eat with me today?" I shook my head numbly, not quite able to think clearly yet. He smiled and lead me away to the table we'd occupied the day before. Once more I was aware of all the eyes on me.

Sitting across from him, he pushed his untouched lunch tray towards me, "Take what you like." He looked me over as I hesitantly took a bite of the pizza. "You're thinner than most people. I'd feel better if you ate more."

"... I'm not that tall, this isn't a bad weight," I flushed, embarrassed.

"Yes, I know that, but you don't have much muscle mass either," he smiled. "I'd say that you look fragile; but it's a cute sort of fragile." I nearly choked on the pizza; my face turning bright red.

"... wh-what?!"

Edward smiled, "You're cute sort of fragile. It's endearing, actually."

I blushed and looked away at the compliment, "... really?"

"Of course," his smile was dazzling. "You don't give yourself very much credit Jasper."

The bell went off, I stood up, "I never thought about it, besides... no one's ever complimented me before; they treated me like an outcast."

Edward walked beside me to Biology, he sighed, "Which is really a loss for them, I consider myself to be extremely lucky then." I didn't look at him trying to hide my blush by staring at the ground. "Anyways," I was glad he was changing the subject, "We're doing a dissection today in Biology, are you looking forward to it?"

I stopped suddenly, "D-dissection?!"

He looked at me, surprised, "Is something wrong? Does the thought of cutting up dead animals disgust you?"

"No... it's..." I blushed again and looked away. "I'm allergic to the chemicals that they store them in. My teacher back home, I had her since grade ten; she let me sit the dissection out as long as I handed in a report regarding the dissection that I did based on the notes from one of the groups. I guess it's a little late to bring that up..."

"Well, I wasn't planning to go anyways," Edward replied. "We could skip together, if you want."

I'd never skipped class before in my life; so I was a little nervous about doing so now; but I seriously didn't think I could stand the embarrassment from fainting during class because of the chemicals. Nodding, "That sounds good... I'll talk to Mr. Banner tomorrow about my sitting out the rest of the dissections." I looked up to him, "Though I'd appreciate it if you went in my place, just so that I'm not completely left out, if that's not too much to ask for." He smiled down at me as he steered me away from the classroom gently and towards the parking lot.

"I suppose that I could make that sacrifice for you, I'm not too fond of the smell myself."

"Um... where are we going?" I asked, confused as he opened the passenger side door of his car for me. I looked from the waiting seat to him several times.

"I'm taking you home, why?" Edward asked, raising one elegant eyebrow. "It doesn't hurt to skip an afternoon, you know."

"Yes well..." I sighed, it would be nice actually to skip gym; it meant that I didn't have to worry about Lauren trying to assault me with gym equipment again. "Alright." I slid into the seat and he shut the door behind me.

Sliding smoothly into the driver's side, Edward started the car up before pulling out of the stall and into the parking lot. I watched him carefully, admiring his perfection and flawless movements.

Yep, I was definitely in love. There wasn't any denying it now.

"So how was your morning?" He asked softly in a low, musical voice that was velvet. It took me a few minutes to concoct a coherent answer that would satisfy him.

"It was fine... Mike thinks we're dating..." I muttered, looking down at my shoes as my cheeks turned an incredibly bright shade of red; I didn't like how that idea appealed to me so much, especially when he didn't seem to really feel the same way that I did.

"Really? That's quite interesting..." his tone sounded a little off; I would have said wistful, but I wasn't too sure yet that I could tell between the subtle differences his voice had when he was experiencing different emotions. He was the first person I was having problems trying to identify their emotions as they spoke. "And what did you say to that?"

"I told him that it wasn't like that." _Even though I'd like it to be._

"That makes sense, there's not really a word that describes you and I at this moment is there." My being seemed to lift when he said _'at this moment'_ because it made it seem like I had a chance with him. That there was a chance that we could be something more, it made me happy; happier then it probably should've.

But for now, I'd have to be content with what he was willing to give me; I couldn't ask for more. I might have come to terms with how I felt quickly, but Esme had said that I was always quick to catch onto my emotions and identify them for what they were. I'd wait for as long as it took for Edward to either fall in love with me, or I'd have to be content with what he did give me. After all, if he couldn't love me, then I couldn't ask him or force him too.

I thought more about this morning's classes to get my mind off of the depressing matter. I'd failed a math quiz; I'd never been good at math and back in Vancouver Carlisle had invested in my having a tutor so that I'd pass. Even with that, I'd been scraping by with low seventies. So now here I was with a low seventy average and a failed quiz. I really sucked at math.

"Are you alright Jasper?" Edward asked, concern lacing his beautiful voice. "You seem... unhappy about something."

I sighed, "I failed my math quiz today and we have the final exam coming up, which I'm probably going to fail as well."

He smiled at me, "I take it that math isn't your strong suit."

"No. I started slipping up in grade nine and it just went down from there; I went from eighties and nineties to seventies," I explained. "It's the abstract concepts and the terms; I get lost easily and forget them, which means that I mess up on questions because I don't know what they're asking me for."

He smiled at me, "Would you like me to tutor you in math?" I stared at him blankly for him; he rolled his eyes. "If you're wondering, I do very well in math so you wouldn't have to worry about my confusing anything."

"Really? Would that be okay?" I was incredibly ecstatic about the entire scenario; it meant that I'd be able to spend more time with him, which was what I wanted more than anything else. "I mean, it wouldn't trouble you, would it?"

Edward shook his head, giving me that crooked smile of his that sent my heart pounding, "It's not a problem to me, I would be more than willing to tutor you in math. That is, if you'd like me too."

"I'd like that Edward, thanks."

We pulled onto my street and into Esme's driveway, "So, when would you like to start? If you want, we could start tonight." The offer was incredibly tempting; but I thought that I'd start out slow and wait a little, after all, the unit exam wasn't until after the dance, so I could wait.

"No, I don't want to spring something like this on Esme. How about after the trip to Seattle?" I didn't want him to feel that I didn't appreciate him, so I tried to compromise.

"That sounds reasonable," he replied. "And I suppose that you're correct about this being last minute, I'll let you talk to Esme about it and you can get back to me with an answer." I nodded. "Oh, and you can get back to me on whether you would like to be pulled out of gym as well."

I flushed, embarrassed. "... right."

He gave me another smile, "I'll see you later then, Jasper. Have a good night." I returned the smile.

"You too Edward." I climbed out of the car and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Just as I was closing the door, I heard him murmur something, but I couldn't be sure.

"If you do, then I certainly will." But then the door had closed and he was pulling out and driving off. I watched him go wondering what I had heard and if I had heard correctly.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

I know that I said that this chapter would be out quicker, but I got a little sidetracked and stuff happened. For instance, there was an anime festival just this past weekend, and I spent two whole days there so I didn't get back until late and then I just didn't feel like working on this despite the fact that there were plot ideas bouncing through my head like mad.

However, the good news is that I did find my original copy of _Twilight_! See, I thought I'd lost it so I bought a new copy, and then I lent that copy to my friend because she wanted to read it and do it for a book review. I still don't have that copy back; but now I have this copy and I can write and scribble in it all I like and stick post-it notes in it with my ideas so that I don't lose track of my ideas and can remember what I wanted to do for each chapter.

So, I apologize for the wait; I'm going to work extra hard so that I can establish a much more routine updating schedule, but for now there's a lot of crap going on. The year's ending, which means exams, which means studying and reviewing and not much free time. But I also have my CALM online course to take because I had no room for it on my time table for next year and it's a requirement for graduation.

I'll stop with the excuses now.

Please review!

Twilight.


	7. Chapter 6: The Secret Life of Daydreams

**A/N:** Oh dear... I have my math final next week! Noooo... well, I'm dreading it; I absolutely LOATHE exam breaks, for the main reason that my horrible anxiety kicks in and then my chronic insomnia gets a whole heck of a lot worse because then it's predictable and I don't sleep at all! But then the week after, I have my Social Studies exam, which I'm not too nervous about seeing as I'm much better at Social Studies and English then I am at Math. MATH IS EPIC FAILURE. TxT**  
Words:** 4 295 words**  
Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. Any original characters/ideas that appear in this story are my own, and I semi-own the plot. Oh, and I should mention that Bleach and its characters don't belong to me either; they're the property of Tite Kubo. Lyrics are from Stellar Loussier's character song from Gundam Seed Destiny, Shinkai no Kodoku; the English lyrics that appear in this chapter were arranged by me. As well, the House of Night series isn't mine; it belongs to the Casts.

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Secret Life of Daydreams**

Did I mention that I'm beginning to really hate girls? Well, Jess was seriously getting on my last nerve. The next day sucked completely; even though the only highlights of my day were the parts that I spent with Edward.

He picked me up just like he'd done the day before, and continued with his now almost constant interrogation about everything about me. The questions varied incredibly greatly from each one to the next; some were about what I did in my free time, what I missed about home, family life, you get the picture.

"Do you have a girlfriend? Or have you ever had one?" he asked as the burnt CD that I'd replaced Wishmaster with played in the background.

'Close your eyes so you do not gaze into sorrow. If you forget feeling warmth, you won't feel pain. Someone calls me from my lost past, asking if I take my sorrow again. This moment, not to come again, you are all I am able to see.'

I shook my head, avoiding his eyes when I answered; my lack of a romantic history isn't something to brag about nor be proud of, "I've never dated before, so I've never had a girlfriend. I'm not the sort of guy that girls want to date; they want the outgoing, smart, jock types; not me. I'm the exact opposite of what their high school dreams are, not to mention at the lowest of the low of the social scene."

"If I may, girls ask you out here," Edward was smirking. "But you tell them no; a number of the guys would like to ask you out as well, but the way that you shot down all those girls has turned them off making a move on you." The slightly possessive and content tone to his voice made my heart thud wildly in my chest and swell; it gave me hope.

"... I'm not..." I stopped. "None of the girls here are my type." Just you. "Besides, I'm not a dance sort of person; dancing is not my forte and I don't really like dances very much."

Edward nodded, and continued questioning, "What's your father like? He's a doctor, isn't he?"

"Yes, he's a world-class surgeon at a hospital in Vancouver. When I was younger, we moved around a lot whenever Carlisle found a better job or one that offered a better or more stable position..." I stopped to put together a good description. "Carlisle raised me until I was old enough to take vacations and visit Esme; but still, he's the one who raised me. But he's hardly home, so I spent a lot of my years after I was old enough to look after myself and the house alone at our apartment. I did all the cooking and cleaning; including the laundry."

"Forks must be difficult to adjust too, even though it rains a lot in Vancouver too. The lack of sun must be getting to you," he smiled.

I shook my head, "Not really, I like the rain so it works for me." Besides, you're making this place so much more worth it.

"Really? Well then I guess Forks is perfect for you," there was a strange amusement to his voice as he said that. I wondered just what his secret joke was that he was finding so amusing. "So are you enjoying this... self-imposed exile to Forks?"

I couldn't help the tiny smile that turned up my lips, "It's not as bad as I had thought it would be."

"Well that's good. I'm happy; I'd hate to see you miserable."

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Jess latched onto me the first moment that she could; pestering me with questions.

"So you're dating Edward Swan, huh? What's that like? Is he a good kisser? What's it like dating someone like him? Does it make you feel insecure? Dating someone as perfect and beautiful as him?"

My eye twitched, "Jess, I'm not dating him."

"Oh? He drives you to and from school, you skipped class with him yesterday; you are **_so_** dating him!" She giggled, and I didn't like her tone of voice or the sound of that giggle. I felt that nothing good could come of this.

"We're not dating, I don't think he... sees me in... that... way..." I turned bright red as I said that; she was drawing her own conclusions and what was going on between myself and Edward was definitely more entertaining then the everyday gossip of a small town. I wondered whether or not I should be proud or embarrassed; I decided that it really didn't matter.

She giggled again, "That's not what I see! He definitely sees you in that way, if you look at how his eyes follow you whenever you walk away from him, or all those really sweet looking touches he gives you!" Jess paused, taking an expression of mock though. "Well, let's see... are you going anywhere with him?"

"Define going anywhere." I sighed, giving in already; I'd learned quickly enough with Jess that if I didn't say anything or avoided a subject with her, she'd automatically make her own assumptions which were hugely out of proportion.

"Going anywhere where you're with him, alone for a period of time."

"He's driving me to Seattle since I don't have a car... to visit my cousin..." she perked up, grinning like a moron.

"Yep! That's a date! You are so dating him!" And she resumed with her questioning, only stopping when Mike joined us at the door to English. Mike had apparently made plans for this weekend, and, of course, invited me along too.

"We're going down to First Beach this Saturday, the weather's supposed to be good. You wanna come too Jaz?"

I remembered First Beach vaguely from my childhood; mostly, I just remembered the tidal pools and swimming in the ocean with Esme and friends of hers, as well as those friends' kids, from the reserve. It had been years since I'd last been down there, but I thought that now was as good a time as any to go back; besides, it had been one of the few things that made coming to Forks bearable.

"Sure, it sounds like fun."

"Great! We're meeting at my family's store at around ten, you have ride?" I wondered about that; would Edward drive me or would I have to ask Esme to do so? I didn't like the idea of one of Mike's friends or Jess picking me up, so I nodded.

"Yeah, I'll have something worked out by then." Jess seemed satisfied; and I started wondering as I followed them into English and took my usual seat between them in the back row.

Mr. Mason was talking about how we were going to start our yearly independent book studies; he was blabbering on about the outline, which was the exact same as the one at home, so I proceeded to tune him out. Primarily, I wondered about my dream last night.

It had been strange; just like all the others that I'd had of Edward, but this one seemed... well, like it was trying to tell me something.

First off, it had taken place in one of those ancient gothic castles that you see in Eastern Europe; you know, that they'd stage all those old vampire movies in or the starts of those old horror movies; you know, like an old gothic manor. I wasn't too sure on which it was, a castle or a manor, just that it was done in the gothic style. The halls had been dark; lit only by the occasional black candle that sent flickering glows of light on the walls and the floors, they were interspersed through the hall I was walking down. In and of itself, I'd felt like I'd been on a movie set when I'd woken up; but that was completely different to how I felt in the dream.

It was like, well, like there was something drawing me through; drawing me towards whatever it was that was waiting for me at the end of the hall. And yet, despite the spooky and almost scary atmosphere of the place, I hadn't felt a single thread of fear within me. I felt perfectly safe; like this place was where I'd belonged, or... or there was something here that was very important to me. I couldn't tell which it was, only that I wasn't afraid. In fact, I was almost anxious to reach whatever it was at the end of the hall. Even though I hadn't known where I was going, my feet seemed too; it was like I was being led in by an invisible string. Almost too strange.

Of course, I'd woken up before I'd reached wherever the hell it was that I was supposed to be going; but the last thing I'd heard before fully returning to the land of the living, was a voice calling my name. A voice that was achingly familiar to me.

It had been Edward's.

Don't say anything about me being obsessed; it's a lie.

I swear.

Okay, maybe it's a little bit of that.

Bringing myself back to reality in time to hear Mr. Mason talking about the books that we selected, he suggested that we pick one out that we seemed to have a connection too. I thought about that, and I thought about all the books that I'd left at home in Vancouver. I recalled the one that I'd revered and loved, even to this day, since I was a small child. I'd have to pick up a copy of it again soon; maybe when I was in Seattle or Port Angeles, it had been a good four years since I'd last read it. But I knew the logistics of the plot, besides, my English teacher back home had applauded the book and adored it as well.

I still didn't know why I'd left it at home.

Maybe someone was telling me something?

I didn't know.

Did I want too?

The bell rang just then, interrupting my chain of thought. Mr. Mason dismissed us with saying that we'd be picking out our books in the next week or two and then he'd go into more detail about what we were supposed to do with them; until then, he told us to finish up with Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and write our personal responses to any two quotes that we found in the book and liked.(1)

"Oh! I'm so excited! Have you ever read the House of Night series?!" Jess gushed as we left; she realized we'd be splitting ways, so she left me with the promise of continuing her rambling in Spanish. I sighed, not looking forward to it.

The rest of the morning continued at its slow pace, heightening my own anxiety about lunch. I couldn't help it, I was seriously in way too deep with Edward, and, surprisingly, it didn't bug me as much as it had when I'd first experienced. I was getting used to it; adjusting to the fact that I'd figured out that I was so desperately, head over heels in love with him. This was turning out to be the most interesting and worthwhile part of living in Forks; the fact that I might just have the most gorgeous guy in school taking a more then passing interest in me. That made everything seem so much better.

Edward met me at the door to my classroom this time. I wasn't surprised; he'd been doing this since yesterday, and the weekend was only two days away. Somehow, I was anxious for the weekend to start; there was some weird twirling feeling in my stomach, something I hadn't felt before.

Then again, I was experiencing a lot of things I hadn't felt before after moving to Forks.

"How was your morning?" He asked me. Unconsciously, my being thrummed as he spoke; everything falling perfectly into place as it did when I was around him.

"Fine. Yours?"

There was a smile on his face that I couldn't quite read, "It was quite nice, actually." I took a deep breath, wondering whether or not to tell him about Jess and the rumors that she was going to be spreading, guaranteed. Edward turned back to me, his eyes were darker now; almost black, but with the barest tints of gold left in them. I wondered about that; how his eyes seemed to shift colors over time, it seriously confused me and I wanted to know what that was about. "There's something on your mind, what is it?"

I took a deep breath, "Jess um... Jess seems to think we're dating..."

A large number of things were in my expectations of what I thought he'd do, none of them were correct. Instead, he smiled, more happy this time though, and looked at me with a look that sent my blood singing and my heart pounding. "Really now?" I nodded stupidly, looking down to the ground as my face flushed an impossibly bright shade of crimson. A cold hand gently brushed my cheek, and I looked up at him automatically, my eyes wide and face still red. "And what do you make of that?"

"I umm... er..." Yes way to wow him with your amazing speech skills Jasper!

My inability to come up with an answer seemed to amuse Edward, as he continued to smile as we walked towards the cafeteria. I didn't want him to know just how much that idea appealed to me; I didn't want to scare him off or give him the wrong idea about me. But... the way he'd looked and the way that he'd spoken when I'd mentioned it... it made me wonder whether he was so opposed to the idea himself.

"It's not... I don't really care..." That was the best that I could get from my sluggish brain at the moment; besides, I didn't want him to know just how much the idea appealed to me. I didn't want to scare him off. Edward smirked at my response, clearly finding something in it to be amused about.

"Well, then I suppose all those girls will have to be disappointed." For some reason, it sounded like he'd meant to add something at the end of that sentence; but I wasn't sure what it would have been. It could have been '_for now_' or it could have been '_because we're just friends_'. I was hoping it was the former.

He opened the door to the cafeteria for me and walked alongside me to the line. We'd gotten here rather quickly, so it wasn't very long.

"What would you like Jasper?" he smiled warmly at me; his eyes smouldering as they almost always did when he looked at me, I was beginning to recognize that look. I flushed bright red and looked back at my shoes.

"Anything is fine..."

I could feel the eyes on us as he filled a tray, paid for it, and led me to a secluded and empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat with his family. A quick glance in their direction told me that they were watching me carefully with their strange eyes, so much like Edward's yet still very different. But Rosalie's eyes were hard, and almost... almost angry as she watched me; I felt fear shoot through me, and my eyes met hers for the briefest of moments. I froze, I was petrified by fear by her dark gold eyes so filled with what seemed to be anger and resentment.

The moment that Edward noticed when my eyes were drawn, he gave a low growl. It was a threatening noise that sent shivers down my spine but was enough to jerk me out of my frozen state. Rosalie looked away. My breath whooshed out in a very noticeable noise, Edward looked back to me, his eyes hard. I tried to smile, but my lips could only twitch a little, so instead, "Is Rosalie angry with me?"

This didn't make much sense to me, I'd never spoken or had any interaction with the tall model-esque woman; so why would she look at me with such vehemence? I couldn't think of anything that I could've possibly done that could cause such a look to be directed at me from her. Great. First Lauren, and now Rosalie. How many more girls were going to become my enemies while I was in Forks?

"... not exactly." His tone made it very obvious that this was a subject he didn't want to go into any greater detail. I gave up, Edward's stubborn when it comes to certain things; I'd learned that much already.

I let the subject drop, changing it for something that seemed much more safer, "A bunch of us are going down to the beach on Saturday, are you coming?" There was a low thrumming flowing through my veins at the mere idea of him coming with us, the chance that I might have to spend with him on that long stretch of beach that I could dimly remember from my childhood. The idea was incredibly pleasing to me, especially to my heart.

"That depends... I was going to start the weekend early with Riley, but perhaps I could make it back. Where are you going?"

"First Beach down in La Push."

He mulled it over for a few long minutes before responding, "Mike invited you, didn't he." I noticed that it wasn't a question, but I nodded my head anyways. "I don't think that it would be such a good idea; I've pushed him a little too far with my monopoly of you. Let's give him some time with you too, shall we?"

Oh _**hell**_ no, he wasn't implying that...

"Mike Newton... has a _**CRUSH**_ on _**ME**_?!" It came out louder than I'd intended, but it was drowned out by the noise around us; I hoped that no one else had heard it. There was a small half-smile on Edward's face when I let that explode on him; on the other hand, I was furious. Downright so.

"It's rather obvious, Jasper. I'm surprised that you haven't noticed it yet, and you seem really quite good at reading other people's emotions," he tilted his head a little to the side, the smile still in place and a playful glint in his eyes; it didn't seem to bode well for me. But I noticed that there was a jealous edge in there too; almost like he didn't like the idea that there was the slightest chance that I'd choose Mike over him.

I slammed my head onto the table, "My life really must hate me at this point in time..."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well let's see," I replied bitingly, sitting up properly and holding up my hand. "Lauren already hates my guts because I've taken her precious spotlight and the guy that she so desperately wants; Jess is horribly jealous because Mike pays more attention to me than her and they're _**DATING**_; and I just find out that, aside from the girls and a few guys who have crushes on me, that Mike Newton of all people has a crush on me! Gee, how can my life get anymore worse than this?!"

His eyes seemed to darken at that, "That's nothing to joke about. There is always something worse out there, waiting to strike so as to prove you wrong."

I didn't let his dark tone affect me, besides, I was too frustrated at this moment to really care about how much worse that my life could become. Really, I didn't see how my life in Forks could get any lower; I'd pretty much already hit rock bottom. Except the tiny little fact that I could possibly be killed in an 'accident' that Lauren would be completely involved in. But she'd make it look like an accident, so there'd be no avenging my death.

Lovely.

Abso-fucking lovely.

By the time lunch had ended and I was walking into Biology with Edward at my side, I was completely ready to murder Mike. I was such an idiot, the signs (now that I was looking for them) were completely and one hundred percent obvious; yet I'd missed them! Thinking about the reason why only made me blush, but it did make my anger ebb away somewhat; especially when Edward sat down beside me and immediately began asking questions about my classes back home. Mike shot him and I a dark glare, but I completely ignored him; too happy to have Edward's full attention on me than his.

We continued talking until Mr. Banner rolled in an outdated TV cart with an old TV and VCR on it. I inwardly groaned, a movie class. It was going to suck. I could hardly keep myself awake during those classes back home (but that was only because it was in my Spanish class; and he showed us cartoon movies in Spanish with English subtitles; can I say BORING?).

As Mr. Banner flicked off the lights and started the movie, I noticed Edward grinning and pushing his notebook in between us. In his neat, perfect handwriting, I read, '_How do you feel now?_'

I scribbled back, '_Would you mind if I borrowed your car to run over Mike tomorrow before school? Than maybe he'd get the hint that I'm not interested?_'

'_Well, I doubt that that would dissuade him. He's rather stubborn when there's something he wants, or likes in this case; I know this from experience._'

'_Firsthand or secondhand? I noticed he keeps sending weird looks to your sister's back._'

'_For a time, yes, he did have a crush on Bella; but he gave up on it soon enough when she made it incredibly obvious that she did not want a relationship with him. Let's just say she took... extreme actions to get him to understand that._'

'_Such as...?_'

'_Kissed Alice right in front of him, that shattered any dreams of her and him that he might have still harbored at that point._'

'_I get the feeling that you're leaving something out about all of this._'

'_And where would you get an idea like this?_'

'_The fact that you're dancing around the issue. So I'll ask straight out: did he ever have an interest in you like he does in me?_'

'_For a time, yes he did. But I made it very clear that I wasn't interested; it took a little time for that to sink in, but by now I'm sure that he has completely given up on pursuing me._'

I thought about that, good, I was happy. Mike wasn't pursuing Edward; I resisted the temptation to even **_think_** of him as how my mind nearly did. I wanted to thwack my head against the desk. Again.

_**My Edward.**_

No, I was not going there. This wasn't right enough as it was, I wasn't going to complicate it any further.

'_That's good to hear._'

'_A little jealous, are we Jasper?_'

'_... shut up._'

The rest of class was spent in silence, but there was still that playful smile on Edward's face for the rest of class and even when he left me at the entrance to gym class. I could feel the heat in my cheeks after he left one of his careful butterfly caresses on my cheek as he'd taken to doing lately. Mike was still giving me that dirty look that he'd been giving me and Edward all Biology class; but I chose to ignore, I was still walking on clouds.

Gym class was better than it had been before. We had started in on badminton, and I was a lot more confidant and I was in my element. We started out with a warm-up, and then we moved into a few singles games; I won all of those.

Much to Lauren's chagrin.

However, I was very proud of myself because I made it through the entire gym class without an accident. I really didn't want another bruise on my face, but I got the feeling that this wasn't going to last very long. Lauren was going to try again, I could feel it. She was more than just furious with me; I was getting in too deep with her. Changing and leaving as quickly as I could, I wasn't about to press my luck, I was extremely relieved to see that Edward was out already and waiting for me.

We walked in silence to his car, at which he opened the door for me and I climbed in. He walked gracefully around it and climbed into the driver's seat and started the car; pulling out of the parking lot smoothly and onto the street. There was silence for a few more moments, until he broke it.

"Listen Jasper, remember how I said that Riley and I were starting the weekend early?" I nodded. "Do you mind if I leave my car with you? I understand that you don't have any other way of getting around; your mother recently sold her old car didn't she? You can use mine while I'm away."

I blushed, "Um, okay..."

"Don't worry, our date for Seattle is still on. I'll be back by then." His smile was warm as he said that; and I felt my cheeks heat up in response. "Oh, and before I forget..." We'd pulled up in front of my house, he turned to me, leaning in incredibly close. My breathing caught in my throat and my lips parted as my eyes widened. As he spoke, his breath ghosted across my face and I was left stunned. "Please do take care of yourself, I don't want to lose you."

Several seconds passed before I found enough of my paralyzed mind to respond a little; all I could manage was a nod. I was still reeling from that smell of his breath; it was nothing like I'd ever smelled before, and the desire to lean in and inhale more of it was incredibly strong. Resisting it was hard, before I could do anything rash, I got out of his car after bidding him goodbye and hurried into my house.

The moment the door was closed, I leaned back on it and slid to the floor.

"Oh god... how much farther do I have to fall until I'm done falling?"

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

I wanted to get this chapter out before I leave on Friday for New York, which I'm really excited for as I've never been there, so I apologize right now if it seems a little rushed. Other than this, I have a one-shot to finish, as well as the second part of _Truth_, so expect those out if you want too. Since I probably won't be allowed to bring my laptop with me due to security purposes, but I think that's sort of a stupid response.

Haha, I couldn't help but include that part about Mike; especially since there's NO Mike/Jasper, but I'm not going to bring it upon myself to write some (at least, not yet, I have to finish up what I'm working on right now before I start anything new). But maybe someone out there will take this as a challenge and write one? I'd be incredibly interested in reading one!

Until July 3, ADIOS.

Twilight.


	8. Chapter 7: A Modern Myth

**A/N:** I just got back from New York yesterday, and I'm starting on this right now because I don't know whether or not I'll be able to update all that much this month because I'm taking a course online. There was no room for it on my timetable, and its a mandatory course so I have to take it, so I was forced to take it over the summer. But I'm cramming in the time to write this because I want too.  
Now, I was just rereading _Twilight_ recently when I realized something. Bella was studying _Romeo and Juliet_ in grade twelve, and I was wondering, do schools in the US read and study it then? Where I live, at least, it's required reading in grade ten; AP and regular English classes. Would someone please clarify this for me? I'm genuinely curious about the entire thing.  
As well, I did borrow a lot of parts of the story that Jacob tells Jasper from the actual novel of _Twilight_ because I wasn't too sure whether I could change things too much, but I did change several things because I've changed things about the vampires for this story. You'll see what I mean when you read the actual chapter.  
**Words: **4 134 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however.

**Chapter 7: A Modern Myth**

The rest of the week passed for me in a blur, with nothing standing out and I couldn't remember it very well at all; it was like it had never even happened. It was like I was walking down a crowded street full of people where their faces all smudge together and you can't remember any of their distinct features, it was a lot like that.

I avoided both Mike and Jess like the plague, which resulted in my spending a lot more time with Angela. Instead of the annonyingly bubbly and gossipy nature of Jess, Angela's quiet and a very restful person. She doesn't feel the need to constantly hover over me, like Mike, but she's there when you need her to be. I liked that in her a lot, she was an easy person to be friends with. Also, I found that she was a closeted anime geek like myself; although, her favorites were the more feminine ones that I found okay, but no guy could really say that he was a huge fan of. She was a big fan of Kaori Yuki, and had a good collection of her works.

But still, that's really the only thing that stands out in my mind from Friday. Everything else just seems to have bled together in a very big, dark blur.

The way that Edward's mere presence seemed to be able to set everything into a blinding clarity was definitely not very healthy. I'd thought about it all of Friday, but I still hadn't gotten myself any closer to what Edward could be; the most that I knew was that he was most definitely not human. Strangely enough, the idea didn't seem to frighten me as much as it should, instead it... well it gave me a certain thrill that I'm positive wasn't in any negative way. Having someone who wasn't human, someone as perfect as him, interested in someone as uninteresting as myself was the highest form of a compliment that I could receive.

As well, the dreams continued.

Every night I'd find myself wandering through those same ancient hallways, wondering where they'd eventually lead me. And every time, I'd always wake up with the velvet whisper of Edward's voice saying my name in my ear. So both Friday and Saturday started off in very much the same way, with one slight difference.

It was sunny outside when I woke up on Saturday morning.

Still, I didn't trust it to remain so for the rest of the day, so when I got dressed, I took that into account. I wore the usual T-shirt and jeans and grabbed a simple dark green hoodie to pull over if it got too cold or started to rain. The trip down to First Beach was first in my mind, and I wondered how it would go. I mean, now that Edward had so graciously pointed out that Mike was very obviously enamored with me, I'd started to dread the entire outing. This was why I'd always been so content with my place at the bottom of the social scene back in Vancouver, it meant that I didn't get involved with the horror that was 'love' and get involved in some stupid love triangle. Honestly, I hated it.

And this was worse because it could only go further downhill and I didn't want to go there. Especially since I didn't have the same feelings that Mike harbored towards me; it was a little late for him to even try and attempt to win over any part of my heart, I'd given it all to Edward already. That was it, there was already a name branded over my heart and it wasn't going to fade anytime soon.

I got dressed, brushed my hair and teeth like I always did; I didn't think that anything could change quickly or in a few hours to the point where nothing could ever go back to the way that it had been before.

Throwing back an energy bar with some milk for breakfast before I left, I didn't think anything more of how everything that I knew was going to change with today's events.

Newtons' Olympic Outfitter's store was easy enough to find, but I had never been there myself or ever paid all that much attention to it seeing as I'm not that much of an outdoorsy person. But it was good enough that I knew where it was, that meant that I didn't get lost; which is pretty much impossible to do in Forks, it's such a small place, and the major roads are very few. But still, I found it hard to focus and I nearly missed the turn.

When I finally arrived, I wasn't too pleased to see Lauren there with three other girls who I didn't know the names of but I knew from my other classes. Jessica was standing with her as well, Angela was a little off to the side. As I walked over, I noticed others who I recognized. Tyler was talking to some other guys that I recognized from my classes along with two guys who's names I actually knew, Ben and Conner. I noticed that Lauren wasn't looking at me for once, instead, she was staring at Tyler with a look of longing in her eyes. Oh so it was **_that_**. Jessica gave me a dark glare as I approached.

Mike immediately was at my side, and he threw his arm around my shoulders and said, "I'm so glad you came!"

I gave a weak smile and shrugged out from under his arm, "I did say that I'd come."

"You didn't invite anyone? We're just waiting on Samantha and Lee." I shook my head, heart panging in agony because I wouldn't see Edward today. But for now, I'd have to deal with the pain because there wasn't anything I could do about it; besides, I got the feeling that I might have to put up with this a lot in the future. I sighed. This separation was going to get harder for me, I could tell.

This seemed to placate Mike extremely well as he grinned at me, "So do you want to ride with me? If you don't it's gonna be Lee's mom's minivan, and that's gonna be pretty crowded." I could already feel Jessica's glare intensifying at the back of my head; making these two happy was giving me a headache, it was just too difficult.

Apparently, Mike took my silence as an answer and he happily chirped, "Alright! You can ride shotgun!" And he danced off to the other guys.

I stammered, "Th-that's-!"

Glaring at Mike's retreating back, I let my dark mood simmer; making my displeasure at the current situation very clear.

Fortunately, things worked out in my favor as Lee brought another three people, meaning that we all had to squeeze into the two cars and I managed to squeeze Jessica in with me. Mike didn't take that too well, but Jessica was practically bubbling over with happiness at how it worked out; that was good enough to alleviate my black mood from earlier. Still, I could tell that Mike wished I hadn't done what I'd done.

But really, I didn't care.

At this point in time, I was feeling like a horrible person because I was making someone else miserable in order to make someone else (and maybe myself) happy. I realized that all those manipulative women and men I'd seen in movies and read about in books weren't all that different from myself; I wanted so desperately to get what I wanted. But also, I did genuinely want Jessica and Mike to be happy; and I knew that I didn't belong in such a future.

The drive down to La Push was relaxing, I could feel the languid pull of my memories as we drove down the road through the shelter of the trees. With the windows rolled down, I could smell the extremely familiar and reassuring smell of the forest as well as hear the Quillayute River as it made it's path towards the ocean. Once or twice, I could see it winding its through the woods.

For me, the long stretch of First Beach was extremely familiar; I'd been here a lot when I was younger with Esme. The stretch of time hadn't done anything to quell the effect it had on me, and my memories hadn't done it the justice that it deserved.

The ocean was gray, despite the sun, and the waves crested with white before crashing onto the rocks. I could see the islands in the distance, as well as the sheer cliffs which seemed to face the raging ocean with an almost unnerving steadfast nature.

First Beach isn't much of a beach, not in the traditional sense at least; there's only a thin border of sand where the ocean meets the land. The sea wind whipped at our hair and clothes, bringing with it the smell of the sea which I inhaled deeply. Clouds danced in the sky, always threatening to cover the sun and few splotches of blue sky above.

Picking our way down the beach, the other guys in the group gathered up pieces of driftwood as we did. Eventually, we found a small gathering of driftwood logs that looked worn and a ring of blackened rocks; this was obviously a pretty common place used for gatherings like this one. I wound up wedged between Jessica and Angela, while Mike set about arranging the gathered driftwood twigs into a teepee-like arrangement. I watched, there wasn't much else to occupy my attention; the girls' chat didn't interest me at all.

"Ever seen a driftwood fire before Jaz?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "I have, once."

"Oh..." he seemed very disappointed about that as he proceeded to light the bonfire; the flames licked up the dry branches and the fire started to take hold. Mike slowly fed the fire, and I watched as the blue flames started to burn faster. I gave a tiny smile, happy to at least be out of Forks; even if it wasn't very far.

After awhile, some of the boys started talking about making the hike to the nearby tidal pools. I listened in, acting like I wasn't interested; but really, I desperately wanted to go with them. Only once Tyler and Eric decided to stay with the girls, did I leave quietly. I made note of the silly grin on Mike's face when he noticed that I'd come along as well.

I took the hike there at a rather brisk pace, so I was able to keep up with the group well enough; it's only when I'm distracted by something that I tend to get clumsy. Or when I'm around Edward, funny how that works out. The sky was blocked out by the thick foliage, but I didn't mind that so much; I've never been too big on sunlight, I like the rain so much better.

We emerged out of the woods after a while, and everyone sort of branched off to different areas. I found a steady rock, seeing as I had fallen into the pools often enough as a child; but isn't every kid a little clumsy? I crouched down to watch the little pool I'd stopped at. Starfish had attached themselves to the rock, and I watched a small crab scuttle across the bottom of the pool and into a small patch of sea weed. An eel with black and white stripes swam lazily through the water.

My mind drifted, and I started thinking of Edward. What would he say if he was here with me? What would he do if he were here? My cheeks flushed at the thought and I ducked my head closer to my knees, hoping that no one would notice. Still, the idea of Edward being the one here with me... my imagination couldn't help but envision the possibilities in an effort to satisfy the ache in my heart.

We'd walk down the beach, maybe, and he'd lecture me on different animals, maybe tell stories that he'd heard or knew about. I'd listen, of course, with rapt attention to every word he said; maybe blushing and getting embarrassed at something he said in regards to me. The part that my imagination supplied next sent shivers down my spine, my heart thudding, and a part of me feeling extremely hot and flustered.

I could see him stop and take my hands in both of his, whispering my name in that way of his that just made me _**melt**_ as he leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against mine. My heart thudded, and then stopped for a moment.

Suddenly, a hand was on my shoulder and I was jerked out of my pleasant daydream. Looking up, I saw Mike there. He grinned down at me, but I saw something else in his face too; he was planning something. I didn't know whether or not it bode well for me.

"C'mon Jaz everyone's going back. Time to get some food." I stood up and started to follow him back.

We were in the back of the group, a fair distance behind everyone. I'd noticed that his hand had lingered longer then necessary on my shoulder, and when it suddenly clasped mine, I knew something was up.

This was going to end badly.

That little gut feeling in my stomach told me so.

"Um, listen Jaz I know that this might seem a little weird but I gotta get this out before you go and do something stupid." His arms suddenly were around me, one about my waist and the other tilting my head up; my eyes shot wide open when I realized what was coming.

"I like you Jasper, a lot. And I know that Swan isn't good for you, so I want you to at least consider me too." And then he pressed his lips to mine.

For a moment, my mind was completely blank.

Then, instantly, I pushed him away, his lips tore off mine brutally as I threw myself away from him. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I nearly stumbled over a root, but I managed to catch myself at the last minute.

"Jasper?"

"No! I don't feel that way for you Mike!" I nearly yelled; I was frantic and feeling horrible inside. My heart felt like part of it was fractured, and my mind was reeling against what had just happened. I had not just had my first kiss stolen from me like this; and from someone who I didn't even have any sense of romantic feelings for! No! I didn't - couldn't - believe that it had happened!

"Jasper, I -"

"No! Just... just leave me alone!" I ran then, my feet thudding as I ran back towards the site of the party. I stumbled several times, falling to my knees, but I made it nonetheless.

When I got there, there were several unfamiliar people there; but their copper skin and black hair told me that they were definitely teens from the reserve who'd come to socialize. My rather loud and messy entrance alerted everyone to my presence.

Lauren looked at me condescendingly, "Jasper, how nice of you to join us." She made it sound like it wasn't nice at all, I panted, not noticing that the youngest teen there's head snapped around at the mention of my name.

I ignored her and left the camp fire and its ring of driftwood benches for the stretch of First Beach. Stumbling along the rocky shore, I eventually found a blanched white log with the roots still attached to it; sitting on it, I leaned my back against the roots and drew my knees to my chest as I let the depression and guilt wrack through me.

"You look like something big and bad just happened," a new voice said, I looked up, meeting the dark brown eyes of one of the reserve teens. He grinned at me. "Sorry, you probably don't remember me; I'm Jacob Black."

"Oh... I should remember you then..."

"Nah, it's okay if you don't. I was just a baby back then, but my sister's have moved on. One's married and lives in Hawaii and the other is at Washington State."

"... oh..." I was surprised to here that one had gotten married; his twin sister's weren't that much older then I was, just a mere two years.

"So yeah, anyways, what's got you looking so down that you stormed out in such a hurry?" He plopped down on the log beside me, eying me with a critical eye.

"... it's nothing..."

"Aw, c'mon you can tell me; I promise I won't laugh," he grinned. "Alright, I'll make you a deal, you tell me whatever it is that's eating you and I tell you a secret that I know, a scary story. Sound good?"

"Well..." I guess that it would help to get this off my chest, and Jacob... he gave me the feeling that I could trust him; really trust him. He seemed like the type of person who I could be friends with easily; that's just the sort of person he is, the kind that you could spill our your darkest secrets too and he'd never tell a soul them.

"IjusthadmyfirstkissstolenfrommebysomeonewhoIdon'tevenlike." I spilled it out in a huge rush.

Jacob raised an eyebrow, "Mind repeating that to me a little slower?"

I turned bright red, I really was being a complete girl about this entire situation, but I could care less. "... I just had my first kiss... and I didn't even want it... not yet, and not with him."

"Him?" Jacob shifted a little closer, obviously curious.

"... Mike Newton."

"Ah," Jacob nodded his head sagely as he crossed his arms. "Well, who would you have liked to have had your first kiss with?"

"That's... embarrassing..."

"Oh come on! I'm gonna tell you a really juicy scary story that I could get in trouble for telling you! You can at least tell who you wanted to have your first kiss with!"

"... Edward Swan."

He raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Really?"

"... yes, really. I like him... a lot." I didn't think that I needed to admit that this had gotten beyond the point of merely being a high school crush and was approaching something that I was sure I'd never feel again in my life towards anyone else.

"Really, I see..." He was still grinning. "You feel pretty strongly about him... I see." I didn't think that his grin meant well for me, but I didn't feel the need to run or hide. "Then let's see if I can scare you!"

He took a deep breath, "First off, you know that the Swans aren't meant on our lands? That's why Sam gets so defensive when those girls mention the Swans around him; that girl, the really rude one, was asking about them just before you got there."

I nodded my head, gesturing him to continue. I had this feeling that my questions about Edward were about to be answered.

"Do you know of any of our old stories, about where we came from - the Quileutes, I mean?"

Shaking my head, "No, sorry."

"There's a lot of them... but one claims that that we descended from wolves, to be specific, men who turn into them; werewolves. It's against tribal law to kill wolves, they're our brothers still.

"But there's more, there are legends of beings that we know as **_cold ones_**." I noticed the emphasis he placed on those two words, so I felt the need to ask.

"Colds ones? What do you mean?"

"They're our mortal enemy, legends about them are as old as the ones of the legends of the wolves, werewolves. One of those legends states that my great-grandfather knew of their existence, and he made a treaty with them; to keep them off our land." He rolled his eyes. "He was a tribal elder, like my dad. These cold ones are the mortal enemies of men who turn into wolves, werewolves."

"You mean that werewolves have enemies?"

"Just one."

I stared at him, now fascinated with his story.

"Yes, traditionally, they're our enemies. But this pack... they claimed they were different, that they didn't sustain their existence on human blood, that they could do so on animal blood instead. They weren't supposed to be dangerous, but the truce was made just in case; and as long as it's in place, we won't betray their existence to the pale-faces."

I looked at him and he joked, "Guess I kinda blew that one, but oh well. You won't tell anyone, right Jasper?"

"No, I'll take this to my grave." Which may or may not be earlier then I think.

"There's always going to a risk for humans to be around the colds ones; they might just... slip up; their hunger may grow too strong for them to resist the temptation."

"What do you mean exactly? That the Swans are like these cold ones?"

"No, they're the _**same**_ ones." I froze, my eyes wide and my expression shocked. Jacob seemed happy with my response, probably thinking that he'd scared me with his story. Though I had to admit that he was a good story teller.

"There's more now then there was then, a new female. But my people knew of the leader, Charlie, before your people had even set foot here; he'd been here and gone." He'd looked solemn throughout the story, but now I saw a tiny smile fighting to get out on his lips.

"What are they? What are the cold ones?" My voice was soft, quiet.

He grinned now, "Blood drinkers. Your kind knows them by a different name, though. Vampires."

I froze once more, shock rolling over me in sharp waves. I couldn't move, I very nearly couldn't breathe.

But still... with that, things did click into place for me. They never ate, they never were around when the sun came out... the cold that radiated from Edward that I remembered seared across my flesh every time he would lightly touch my face.

"Don't tell Esme, kay? She and Billy had a real row when she found out about some of us not going to the hospital when doctor Swan started working there," he looked at me, a little worry lurking in his face and voice. I tried to smile, but it was shaky.

"I won't, don't worry about that. She'd be more likely to think that I'm crazy or you're crazy for believing in that." But I did, I believed in it fully; because, when I believed that, everything else fit into place with everything that I'd observed about Edward and his family.

"That turn you off your little crush on that Swan?" He was still grinning. "I doubt it, that stuff's pretty hard to believe; my dad doesn't want anyone talking about it off the reserve. Really it's like a taboo or forbidden topic in La Push."

I gave him my best fake smile that I could, "I said you don't have to worry. No one will find out about it from me, and it hasn't changed what I feel."

"That's good, if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be."

We stayed out on the beach until it started to lightly drizzle, I got up at this point and went back to the camp site after saying goodbye to Jacob. I avoided Mike as much as possible, but I did wind up in his Suburban again; this time, though, I took the back seat between Angela and Ben.

The car ride back was silent and tense for me, I just lay there, my head resting on the back of the seat with my eyes closed. When we got back to the store, I was the first one to tear out of there; I didn't want to even have to look at Mike.

I slammed the door when I got home and raced upstairs to the bathroom where I scrubbed my face until my lips had turned red and threatened to bleed. They stun horribly, but I ignored the burn. I just stared at myself in the mirror for a very long time until I couldn't take it anymore and raced into my room, throwing myself on the bed and finally letting my emotions take me.

Once my emotions were done tearing me apart, I was able to focus a little more clearly on the situation at hand. There were a few facts that I was positively sure of.

Edward was a vampire.

Some part of him lusted after my blood; but that didn't bug me.

Which should be something that scared me; that willingness to give him my blood if he so desired it. That was how fierce my feelings were for him, how passionate and deep they were.

When I looked closely enough, I could see that it really was a poison; how I feel about him. But it was too late, there was no turning back for me, I'd gotten in too deep and he was the only antidote to the poison; and I was addicted.

There was no breaking this spell he had cast over me.

And I didn't want to break it either.

* * *

Whew! My neck's cramped up and my throat's a little dry, but I'm otherwise fine and feeling really great that I've gotten this out!

So the big surprise there! Jasper had his first kiss and he's none too happy about it! And we get our first look at Jacob too, so that should satisfy those Jacob fans who are reading this. I hope you all enjoyed this, I think that this might become a habit of mine of staying up late and writing these chapters; it's probably going to happen. Regular updates may just start you guys! You never know with me, I'm weird that way.

I'd like to thank each of you who have reviewed, but that would take me too long to do, so I'll just give you all a hug and send Jasper on his way to you all to give you all your presents! Cookies from all! But please, don't keep him for too long, I'll need him for the next chapter and Edward won't be too happy if you keep his beloved little human for too long!

Thanks a lot you guys! Let's see just how far that we can go!

Please review.

Twilight.


	9. Chapter 8: Colors of the Heart

**A/N:** Well anyways, I've finished up the first unit of my CALM. Thanks for the feedback on the last chapter, I really appreciate it all. As for this story, if I can do precisely what I did with chapter seven then there's the definite chance that I'll be able to finish this before _Breaking Dawn_ comes out; which has always been my goal. I'm just really ecstatic because I'm getting to the parts that I've been aching to write ever since I started writing this. Other then that, I'm involved with this little side-project with two of my friends; we've created our on division for Bleach, and I'm in charge of writing the scripts. If you want, you can find what I've done so far in regards to those scripts on my DA account, I'll put up a link to it in my profile.  
**Words: **5 517 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however.

**Chapter 8: Colors of the Heart  
**

Sunday was a bright sunny day, just like Saturday had been. It didn't reflect my mood well-enough as I finally hauled myself out of bed, landing on the floor with a loud thud. I looked out the window from my position on the floor and just stared out the window for several long moments not really focused on it, but it was something to look at.

Honestly though, I wasn't too sure of how I felt at the time.

When I finally pulled myself together enough to stand up, I peeked out the window, not surprised to find that Esme's cruiser wasn't there; I vaguely remembered she'd mentioned something last night at dinner that she was going to be spending the day in Port Angeles with her new girlfriend. I was happy for her, at least she didn't have anything to regret about her relationship. There was a lot that I had to regret about my love life.

Eventually, I decided to check my email, I'd been neglecting it for the past few days. I found a few emails from Emmett, and one from Carlisle. I clicked on the one from my dad.

_'Jasper, it's gotten a little messier around here without you, but it's nothing that I can't handle. I still haven't had any luck with the women, but that's not why I'm writing. How are you doing in Forks? Have you settled in? Made any new friends? Have you found that special someone yet? You've always seemed like you might need someone to look after you, you've always seemed a little... fragile, like you need looking after. Email me back as soon as you can.'_

I sighed as I read the email, I didn't really know how to word this; telling my father that I was most likely gay and already head over heels in love with someone. I didn't know how to word the email, so I just went with something simple.

_'I'm doing fine, dad, and that's disappointing with your lack of luck in that department, but I wouldn't worry too much. Forks is fine, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. School's fine, if not a little borrowing, and I've made a few friends since I've got here, but I don't think that most of them are really lasting friendships. As for that special person... I think I've found them. I'm just waiting on them, I don't know if they feel the same way.'_

With that done, I moved onto the emails from Emmett. The first one was a direct response to the email I'd sent admitting about my crush on Edward. My cheeks were bright red as I read it, I was horribly embarrassed, even though this was just private between me and my cousin. It didn't change my embarrassment.

'_You serious?! You actually have a crush on this guy?! Wow, he must **REALLY** be something to have caught your eye. Ya got any photos of this guy? I gotta check him out, make sure that he's right for you; I won't have any guys taking advantage of my little cousin! I looked after you when we were kids, I'll keep looking after you now best I can. So is he nice? I have a semester break at some point, I'll try to come down so I can meet this guy, always better to meet in person and then judge._

'_Holy... you mean he managed to tackle you before a car hit you?! Wow, he **must** be something then. Well, I hope you're happy at least, and you really are okay?'_

The other emails from him were just him bugging me about why I hadn't responded. I groaned, Emmett was overprotective, he always had been; that's just how he is. When were little, we grew up together, he protected me from all the bullies and other kids who'd pick on me. This was pretty much why I got the entire 'fragile' thing from Esme and Carlisle; I wasn't great at defending myself and it was just because of my appearance overall. I had delicate features, as Esme had put it once, and could quite possibly be mistaken for a girl. That was mortifying.

'_I'm more than serious, Emmett. This has gotten beyond just a simple crush... Emmett, I'm in love with him. I don't know if he feels the same way, but I think that it's a distinct possibility that he does too; I mean, I've sort of got a date with him next Saturday. We're not going to the dance, I know that much, he did offer to drive me out to Seattle, but I'm not so sure on that. But I'll tell you about it once I'm sure, okay?'_

With my email checked and done, I went downstairs to get some breakfast. I took my time, slowly chew each bite of cereal and not focusing on anything other then what I was eating. Once I was finished, I washed and dried the bowl and spoon, and put them away before I went back upstairs; I couldn't put this off any longer. Opening my internet, I headed straight for Google, typing in single word to search for.

Vampire.

My heart thudded in my chest as the results loaded. There was a lot of stuff to search through; a Wikipedia entry on the subject, a vampire name generator. There were a few promising sites, I clicked on the first one that was simply titled 'vampire'.

'_A vampire is a mythical creature who overcomes death by sucking the blood from living humans. The most common variation of the myth portrays the vampire as a dead person who rises from the grave at night to seek his victim from the realm of the sleeping.'_

It opened along those lines, I read through the article, but it didn't really give me any details on what I was looking for. I found another, much more promising article entitled _VAMPIRES IN MYTH AND HISTORY_. Reading through that, I realized that I wasn't going to find out a lot from these sites; they were all only dedicated to the myths of vampires. And besides that, hardly any of them lined up with the things that I'd noticed about Edward and his family. His cold skin, his eyes which seemed to change colors, the speed, and strength; but above all, the quirk he had that allowed him to seem to be able to know precisely what other people were thinking. It was unnerving almost.

So much better then my empathy. Which, by the way, is extremely hard to block out at times; especially if the emotions are very strong.

I closed out of the sites, turning the computer off. I threw myself onto my bed, but there was a restlessness in me that wasn't quelled. I gave up on that, quickly throwing on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, grabbed my favorite hoodie, and shoes and stormed out of the house; slamming the door behind me.

Standing outside in the wind and sun, I just stood in the backyard for several extremely long minutes, just letting everything soak into me. There were a number of things with which were swirling around in my mind in a twisted tornado that wouldn't stop until I'd put everything into its place.

First off, I was in love with Edward Swan.

That was fine, I'd accepted that a long time ago.

Edward Swan was, more or less, a vampire.

Surprisingly, that didn't scare me as much as it should've. I should be terrified, I shouldn't care about him the way that I did; in fact, I should be putting as much distance between myself and him as possible. He wanted my blood, thirsted for it, of that I was certain; yet, I didn't care that he could kill me so easily if he was overcome by that urge. Still, I couldn't find it in myself to be scared. The only thought was that if I was going to die, I'd rather it be by his hand instead of anyone else's. That settled it.

I was in love with Edward Swan, a vampire.

Which didn't change anything, I would continue doing what I was doing, even if it killed me. Because the alternative, to me, was so much worse; my heart and mind shied away from the pain that I knew separating myself from him would cause.

Because cutting him out of my life would mean gouging out my own heart with a dull knife. I couldn't deal with the pain.

This made my problem easy, it was something that I could easily live with. I was going to just continue, if Edward did care about me like I did for him, then I'd stay with him. I'd stay with him till the end of time if he allowed me too. I wasn't going to back away just because of what he was; he hadn't harmed me yet and he'd had plenty of chances to do so, I didn't think he was all that dangerous. Maybe it was how I felt that made me blind to the monster that he could be.

Even if he was a murderer, I'd still love him.

I was in so deep now that it wasn't funny. Edward really is a poison to me.

My very own personal poison.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

The next day was hard for a number of reasons. For one thing, I was avoiding Mike like the plague, and for another, Jessica wouldn't leave me alone about why I'd stormed off in such a hurry on Saturday.

"It's nothing, I just wanted a little alone time." She didn't believe me, of course. Luckily, though, she let the subject drop; I think it had something to do with Angela being there and how she just shook her head at Jessica when she looked like she wanted to press for more details. I realized that Jessica just wanted juicy details to spread along the grapevine, she was a real gossiper. It was something that I didn't care a lot for; I hate gossip, and I hate being the center of any rumors that might be spread.

She dropped the subject, but then started asking about tomorrow, "You're still coming with us to Port Angeles, right?"

I sighed, "I said I'd go, so I'll go."

"Alright, well, I'll follow you home after school tomorrow and then we can pick up Angela and head out. That way we won't be out too late, we'll grab dinner in Port Angeles too. After the shopping of course, but I don't think you'd really want to hang around while we shop for dresses so maybe you could find a book store or something while we do that and then we could meet back up later?"

"Sure, that sounds fine..." I'd just noticed a familiar head of blond spikes bobbing over the crowd coming towards us. I made up a hasty excuse to Jessica about not wanting to be late for my first class, and I shot out of there like a bat out of hell. There was no way that I could face Mike when he'd done... I didn't want to think about that. I had to set that right, I didn't want to have to keep remembering _**that**_ as being my first kiss, even though it was. I wanted something more memorable, something that I could look back on with a certain fondness.

Certainly not what Mike had given me. I shuddered at the thought. No, I wouldn't think of it; I'd promised myself that I would put that out of my mind and focus on other things. The rest of Monday was rather painful, for a myriad of reasons.

My heart suffered a lot on Monday, Edward wasn't in school. I wondered if it had anything to do with the sun, he was a vampire after all. Still, I was crushed when I didn't see him in the cafeteria at lunch. I sat as far from Mike and Jessica as possible, squeezing into a seat between Angela and Ben instead near the end of the table. I spent the entire lunch hour silent and brooding, Angela was nice enough about it, not asking any questions at all about my dark mood. Instead, she spent it quietly sitting beside me. I felt comfortable around her, like I could actually tell her anything and she'd never repeat it to another person or think any less of me. Her presence was oddly comforting.

Still, what I was going through was my own burden to bear, no one else could help me with it. This was my problem, I'd deal with it.

And Edward was going to help.

Somewhat. At least, I hoped he would.

I felt lonely in Biology, looking sometimes with a desperate and lonely air to the empty seat beside me; wishing with all of my being that he'd show up and join me, ask me more of his questions. I liked the questions he asked, no matter how much they demanded of me to open and bear my soul to him. Edward... I really missed him; parts of me weren't there, I was realizing, when he wasn't around, when he wasn't with me.

Oh yes, he was definitely a poison. Precisely my brand of poison. I wasn't able to live very well anymore without him with me.

So Biology and Gym passed slowly for me, and I found that avoiding Mike was harder then I thought it would be. But I managed. And it hurt that Edward wasn't there to see me when I'd finished another gym class, his absence was really getting to me. But I knew I'd have to get used to it, because I knew that he probably wouldn't be at school tomorrow either.

That night, I spent the entire evening focused on my English essay for _Macbeth_. It helped a little, to alleviate the horrendous pain in my chest, the feeling that it was missing something that would make it complete otherwise. Nonetheless, I did finish the essay within a matter of a few hours, with only a minimal amount of breaks. My sleep that night was restless, the dreams I had now only reflected what I wanted above all things. Even a few of my darkest fears, but most of all it was my dark desires that surrounded Edward. One thrilled me more in a way that I'd never felt before, him drinking my blood. That made me flush just thinking about it, and I knew that it was very unlikely to happen. I slept restlessly and not very well.

And again, the day passed in a very large blur.

Jessica followed me home, just like she'd said she would, and I dropped my stuff off before she drove over to Angela's and we picked her up too. I stayed in the back of the car, plugged into my iPod and ignoring the girly-conversation that Jessica was having with Angela; it was more like a one-sided conversation with Jessica doing almost all of the talking. I just tuned them out completely; I wasn't interested in it at all.

So the entire drive for me was spent listening to random songs on my iPod's shuffle setting, while staring out the window at the scenery speeding by; even though I didn't take any real notice of it. It was more like a habit that I had and hadn't gotten over yet. Oh well. Jessica parked a little ways in, near the one department store in town, and we climbed out. Angela and Jessica went to the department store, after giving me directions to a nearby bookstore; and we agreed to meet back up at a small restaurant for dinner.

Wandering off, I followed the directions that I'd been given, but what I found wasn't what I was looking for. It was one of those really strange bookstores that had to do with the occult, I didn't go in. It was in a rather isolated part of Port Angeles, and there wasn't a lot of foot traffic around. Instead, I turned away from it and started towards where I thought downtown was. The sidewalks were surging with afterwork traffic, so I just wandered along, until I started into a more... I wasn't sure, derelict part of town.

Boarded up shops dotted along the street, with warehouses facing towards them. I hurried along, this place gave me a bad feeling.

As I rounded a corner, it was only then that I realized I was being followed.

I caught sight of them in a boarded up window as I walked past it, there were three of them, all men. They had a very grubby look about them, unshaved and unwashed faces with tattered and dirty clothes. But that wasn't what worried me the most, what did was what I was guessing they wanted from me. I could tell they weren't pickpockets or petty thieves, I swallowed.

Quickening my pace, I hurried down another alley, only then realizing that I should probably head towards a busy street instead of weaving my way through back streets and alleys. I was practically signing my own death certificate. When I next looked behind me, after winding my way through several side streets, I couldn't see them. I breathed a small sigh of relief. In the distance, I could see a busy road ahead of me. I very nearly sighed with relief. My relief came too soon.

I hadn't noticed the small side street that branched onto this one.

A fist connected with the underside of my jaw and sent me sprawling into a wall, hard. I felt my breath knocked out of me and my vision spun as I collapsed to my knees. I tried to stumble back to my feet but I was suddenly pinned to the ground by two grubby bodies.

"Aw, looks like we caught ourselves a pretty un' this time!" one of them drawled; the smell of dirt and alcohol bombarded my nose and I would've gagged, but my breath hadn't come back yet so it came out as a strangled gasp instead.

One of the men had grabbed my arms, pinning them to the ground by my wrists; the other had grabbed my legs and held them down firmly. My struggles were weak and I couldn't overpower them; and the thought occurred to me, even if my breath hadn't been knocked out of me, I wouldn't have been able to fight them off anyways. I wasn't strong enough, it was a disadvantage to my slender build.

"Hey! He's almost pretty enough to be a girl! Aren't ya a cute little thing sweetie?" the man holding my feet down replied. I could hear the malicious intent in his voice. The third man spoke next.

"C'mon! Don't make this hard deary, we just wanna have some fun with ya. And ya made this lovely little body of yours so available!" Obviously he was the leader of the trio, as he was going to... oh god.. no! NO! My struggles intensified, though they were to no avail. "Hold 'im down. I wanna go first."

My legs were roughly spread and I struggled, trying to get enough air to scream; suddenly, a dirty cloth was shoved into my mouth and a hand roughly smoked across my face, momentarily stunning me. It was enough for the first man to grab a hold of my jeans and he began to rip at them, trying to get them open and off as quickly as he could. I tried to rip my legs free, tried to clamp them together, tried to do anything to stop him from doing what he was going to do. I screamed into the gag, my eyes watering and the tears welling up and spilling down my cheeks. My wrists chafed against the brutal hold and the coarse cement below, the sharp tang of blood met my nose; I was bleeding.

"Such a beauty... think he's a virgin?" The man grinned as he finally managed to undo my pants and began to pull them down till they hit my knees. I shrank away as he slid a grimy hand up my shirt, groping at my stomach and chest with clumsy movements; he leaned in closer to my face and the stink of alcohol and dirt made my head spin, I automatically tilted my head away from him and he pressed a sloppy kiss to my cheek. I shuddered in revulsion. "Oh... never had a real man, eh?"

The men laughed drunkenly and coldly.

Obviously they were going to have no problem with raping me. Or watching it happen, for that matter. My heart felt like it would shatter; the pain was just much too real for me.

Silently, I continued weeping and trembling, there wasn't much I could do, I was already nearly exhausted from all of my fruitless struggling. This... I didn't want this! I didn't this man touching me like this! Oh god... I was going to be raped; and it wouldn't be enough for just one of them to do it. I was going to be raped.

Gang-raped.

In my mind, I pleaded that, somehow, Edward would save me.

_No... please... Edward, I'm scared... no... I don't... not this... please...! I'm so scared... Edward..._

And then, it seemed as if my prayers had been answered.

"Let go of him right now." The voice was deadly, quiet and soft like velvet, but there was a danger and threat of violence in that same voice that I knew oh so well. I opened my eyes, seeing what I wanted to see.

Standing there, still sheathed mostly in the shadows was Edward.

He looked truly frightening in that moment, his bright golden eyes glowing with an unhinged rage that promised death. His face was in shadow, but those eyes radiated from in those shadows. The men holding me down trembled, but they didn't move from their positions. Apparently, the leader was a little more tipsy then the other two, as he didn't back down from the threat that Edward made with his very presence.

"What cha gonna do? You want your turn, you can wait. I wanna have my fun first."

Edward's body tensed, "You... touch him once more and your hand will be separated from your body." The threat was very much real.

"Ohh... I'm so scared... Ah!!" He screamed as he was thrown away from me, he slammed into the wall with a sickening crack and a loud groan as he slid to the ground in a heap. The other two immediately let go of me, I curled up in onto myself the moment they did so; not even bothering to remove the gag that was still trapped in my mouth.

Edward was suddenly towering over the men and me, his eyes silently promising death as he glared down at the two men who still held me down.

"Get your **_friend_** out of my sight. If I ever catch you near him again, make no mistake, the punishment you will receive will be far greater then this."

I heard them shuffle around in a real hurry, dimly, I heard them gather up their fallen friend and hurry out of there like the devil was at their heels. Before they'd hurried off, I found myself pulled against an icy chest with cold arms wrapped securely around me and nestled into a just as cold lap. Cold fingers brushed over my slowly bruising jaw and pulled the gag out before softly running along my lips. I trembled and pushed myself closer to him, wanting to feel the reassuring frigid touch of his body.

Those arms wrapped themselves around me firmly, that icy hand slowly tracing over my face and neck. I relaxed into the touch, but I still shook; reeling from the near-rape that I'd just escaped. Shakily, I reached up, taking his face in both of my hands (much to his surprise) and lightly traced over his lips and neck. I kept whispering in a near broken voice, "It's you... you really came... Edward..."

His fingers stopped their tracing, lightly resting on my raging pulse which was slowly coming to a more calmer pace. I dimly noted the scratches along my wrists and the blood streak along them, it wasn't until Edward took one of my hands in his and pressed the palm to his lips that I noticed. His voice vibrated against it, low and rife with tension.

"I thought I'd lose you... you don't know... how much this scared me..." he kissed my palm once more, the arm around my waist tightening and pulling me closer to him. "When I saw what they meant to do... seeing you like that..."

We were so close that I could feel his breathing rising and falling in his chest, but I could feel no heartbeat. That just made everything that I'd learned make more sense. There was no denying it now. Edward was a vampire.

But seeing him like this, so lost for words and struggling with his emotions only made my heart twist in an almost painful way. I hated seeing him like this, "Edward... don't..." His fingers lightly touched my lips, silencing me.

"Please, let me finish..." I nodded, my eyes wide. His lips pressed lightly against my forehead, and I gave a silent gasp at the contact. "It's strange... how just your presence seems to be able to temper my anger, at least somewhat... I was so prepared to hunt those men down, after I saw what they meant to do, and seeing you like that. So broken and helpless...

"But something held me back... I couldn't leave you like this. Not when you were so... helpless. I couldn't leave you. You've cast your spell over me and I just can't leave you alone for any length of time; you don't know how much being away from you has cost me. The pain, the anxiety... I've never been this attached to anyone before."

I pressed my fingers to his chilled cheeks, looking into his eyes. They were full of pain and anguish when they met mine, I leaned up, lightly resting my forehead against his (he was leaning down, which made it much easier considering our height difference). "Don't... I don't want to cause you pain..."

He gave a sad smile, but the emotions in his eyes didn't go away, "You're important to me Jasper, more important then you may ever know. I don't understand it, how I feel."

Shaking my head, I pulled back a little, "You... I... you've saved my life twice... and I... I..."

I didn't get to finish. Edward leaned in until our lips were just scant millimeters apart, I could feel his breath ghost across my lips, "Why do you draw me in so?" And then his lips covered mine.

His hands dropped around my waist, holding me close and pinning me to him. I couldn't count the number of times that I'd dreamed of him kissing me, and this wasn't one of the scenarios I'd dreamt of, but the fact was, it was happening. Edward was actually kissing me.

It was better then I'd imagined. His lips were cold against mine, but soft and smooth like silk; and he pressed them with just the right amount of pressure to drive me crazy and then my mind when completely and blissfully blank. For only a split second did I hesitate, and then my body reacted. I arched up against him, pressing my lips against his almost frantically; after all, I didn't know whether or not I'd ever get to kiss him again. This might, after all, be a one time only circumstance.

Edward's arms pulled me close and tight to his chest, causing me to gasp in surprise. He took that as an opening, his tongue darting out to lightly trace the contours of my mouth; I tentatively met his tongue, reveling in the surprising sweetness. Pulling back after a few more seconds, Edward murmured, "How sweet tastes the forbidden fruit." He sighed. "I'm sorry, that's probably not what you wanted for your first kiss."

"Second, actually, but let's pretend it's my first." I buried my head against his shoulder, wrapping my arms around his neck. He peered down at me, his eyes confused.

"What do you mean?" There was hurt in his voice; I wondered, had he wanted to be my first kiss? I fought back a smile at the thought.

"... at First Beach... Mike kissed me." Edward frowned, and he looked like he was about to pull back. "Edward, please don't leave me. Not here, not like this."

He sighed, leaning down so his head was resting on top of my head as he held me close, "I don't think I can. I'm not good for you, I'm dangerous, and yet... I can't leave because I care too much. I worry that you might get into trouble, that something I've done will hurt you."

"Only you leaving me will hurt me now..." I muttered, I didn't see the point in lying to him anymore about how I felt, especially now with how he must obviously feel something for me that was beyond mere friendship. "That's why... I can't leave, even though I know you're dangerous; it's already too late and I'm in too deep."

"Please, don't ever say that..." Edward murmured, taking a deep breath. "But what do you mean? Why are you in too deep?"

"I..." Now I hesitated, why oh why did I have to hesitate now when I'd accepted it so fully to myself? Steeling myself, I said it. "I love you..."

"How can you...? How can you say that when you - "

"I know what you are, and I can still say that despite knowing it. It doesn't change anything, that's why I'm in too deep."

"Jasper you... I..." I'd never heard him speechless like this before. He squeezed me to him in an almost bone-crushing embrace, I gasped; the breath was very nearly squeezed out of me. Before I could pass out or feel lightheaded, he released me, but I remained in the protective circle of his arms. He looked me in the eyes as he said, "You mean everything to me now."

I remembered somewhere reading something about '_When you can live forever, what do you live for?_' And I thought, is this it? Is this what Edward had made his purpose for living for? I wanted desperately to ask, but before I could, Edward's cell went off; I was surprised he had one, no one else in Forks had one, at least, I didn't think so. It was the first time I'd seen it.

"Bella," he greeted. "I'm sorry about that. Could you please meet me with the car?" There was a pause. "You can follow my scent if you need too; yes I am with him." After a short conversation, he hung up. "I hope you don't mind my kidnapping you."

"You can kidnap me if you want, but Jessica and Angela will be wondering where I am."

He grinned, "Oh you don't have to worry about that. Bella ran into them when I ran off on her, she's simply told them that you had an 'accident' and we're taking you back to have Charlie look over you." I sighed and curled up closer to him, relaxing. The terror and other negative emotions that I'd felt when I'd first been attacked; that feeling of hopelessness was washed away, beaten back by the safety I felt in Edward's arms. I didn't want to leave, and I didn't care about the rumors that Jessica was going to be sure to spread.

"But I'm fine..." I looked away from the minor scratches on my arms; they'd already scabbed over, leaving streaks of dried blood along my wrists and forearms. Edward noticed them and frowned. "I'm just a little shaken up, that's all." He pulled his jacket off, wrapping it around me as the shivers returned. When he made a move to move me away from himself a little, an effort to keep me warm, I shook my head wildly and pressed myself against him. I didn't care if I got hypothermia now, I just wanted to be as close to him as I could. "Just let me stay."

Edward sighed, his arms coming to a rest around me in a protective embrace; he eventually scooped me up into his arms bridal style as a car came around the corner. It came to a stop a few feet in front of us, Bella stepped out from the driver's seat. She gave me a small smile, but turned to Edward.

"Do you want to drive or shall I?"

"You drive, Jasper doesn't seem to want to let go." I blushed. Bella nodded and climbed back into the driver's seat; I only now just noticed how nice of a car it was she was driving. I didn't know the brand or what type of car it was; but it was definitely designed for speed and looked to be extremely expensive.

Edward carried me around to the passenger side, which he climbed in with me perched on his lap. Bella pulled smoothly out of the alley and onto a main road before she started back towards Forks. I didn't notice at first, but she drove slower then Edward did (now that I thought about it). He seemed a little anxious, but didn't say anything about the slower pace. I took a deep breath, I had a few questions I wanted to ask.

"What were you doing in Port Angeles?"

* * *

Mwuhahaha! I think this is the worst cliffhanger I've left you all with yet! I'm so proud of myself. :3 Two chapters in about three days, aren't you all proud of me? I hope I get some nice reviews for the rather speedy updates that I've been giving you lately. Once I've published this (and once my dad's gone to bed), I have to sneak onto the desktop computer and quickly do my CALM assignment that is due tomorrow. I want to complete as much of the second unit as possible so that I can spend more time on writing this.

As well, you might notice some changes in the vampires for this story. If anyone is interested, I'll put together an informative post and put that in my LiveJournal if anyone's curious. Just say so in a review if you are.

Now, in regard to the search results that Jasper got waaaay back in the beginning of the chapter, I actually took it upon myself to search those up myself. If you want to see the sites that Jasper used, I can post them in my profile for you to check out if you so desire. Other than that, I actually did have to go back and refresh my memory on vampires; I was an expert on them, but time's affected my memory a little. It was a research project in grade eight, unsolved mysteries, I got vampires. It was sooo much fun; I really enjoyed reading all the books that I got on them.

Oh yes, and if any of you are wondering; in the original _Twilight_ novels, I've always equated Jasper to being an empath, I'm one too. Just on not such a great scale as him; it almost makes me seem more pathetic compared to him. But before you all say how amazing it is, let me tell you that it's not. When I was in New York, we went to Ground Zero and a memorial site dedicated to September 11. I had a hard time keeping a cap on all the emotions that I was feeling; see, negative ones are worse, in my opinion, then positive ones. But all the depression and anger I felt was really horrible.

Review? :3

Twilight.


	10. Chapter 9: Shadow of the Day

**A/N:** I'm tired, that's what I am, and I'm bored too. I haven't done anything outside of the house for a long time. Apart from that, I scarred myself with that naked fight and chase scene from Borat. As well, I'm wondering, did anyone notice that little homage I stuck in the last chapter to _Twilight_? Well, it wasn't so much to the novel as it was to the movie; if you can pick that out, I shall give you a special mention in the next chapter. :3 As well, there's a link to a picture of Bella's car she drives in my profile, if you care to look.  
Oh yes, and I've decided to put together a Edward/Jasper fan mix, if you'd like to help, it would be very much welcome.  
**Words: **4 683 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however.

**Chapter 9: Shadow of the Day  
**

Bella glanced at me when I asked that, tilting her head just a little to look at me, then her eyes flickered to Edward before they were back on the road. However, Edward's eyes were on me the entire time.

"That's a bit of a complicated question." I glared at him. He'd left me all alone at school for three days with no calls and then he suddenly shows up in Port Angeles at just the right time to save me from nearly being raped.

"One you're going to answer," I shot back. He wasn't going to get out of this so easily. "If you want, you can simplify it for me."

Edward sighed, "Alright, I followed you there."

"Wait you - why?!" I wasn't horrified; more like I was pleasantly shocked. Surprisingly, it was Bella who answered.

"He was worried about you. He got on Riley's nerves this weekend simply because he had no idea whether or not you were okay; he called almost every hour, just checking to make sure that you were fine. And then, he drags me out here just to make sure that you don't get into any trouble, which you somehow manage to do, and he races off to save you; leaving me with no explanation."

I stared at her, it was the most that I'd ever heard any one of the Swans, excluding Edward of course, say at any one time. Edward gave her a bit of a harsh glare before he attempted to clarify.

"It wasn't just that I was worried, it was more like... a feeling I had, that something might happen to you while I wasn't there," he leaned in, kissing my temple, before continuing. "I don't like being away from you, it makes me anxious."

"The feeling's mutual," I muttered. Edward sighed heavily.

"... which is incredibly wrong you shouldn't be so emotionally vested in me. Or attached, for that matter."

I didn't want to look up at him when he said that, but I poked his chest, "It's not like I planned it, and it's a little late to tell me to feel otherwise. I don't let go easily."

Apparently, Bella didn't want to get involved with our conversation as she didn't say anything; but she did give me what seemed to be a sympathetic look, but nothing else. I twisted around in Edward's lap so that I could look up at him easier, winding up with my knees on either side of his thighs and my hands on his shoulders; Edward's hands remained as iron bands around me, keeping me to him and in safety. Gently, he brushed my bangs aside; he frowned at the bruise forming on my jaw, matching the one on my temple only this one was fresher so it was much darker, and the hand imprint on my cheek.

"I should have paid more attention, this is my fault," Edward murmured, brushing his lips along the bruise which caused my breathing to hitch and my heart to pound wildly. "I should have paid more attention to Jessica's mind... then I would've noticed you'd separated from them sooner, and you would be safe."

"That may be true, but it's not your fault. It's mine, I shouldn't have been wandering around in back alleys like that where I could be ambushed so easily," I mumbled against his neck. Edward's arms tightened around me and his lips dropped a kiss onto the top of my head. "But you followed me to Port Angeles because you were worried?" I still wasn't so sure about that, I wanted confirmation from him; I wanted something solid.

"I worry too much when I'm away from you, I followed you because I always think the worst of situations when you're out alone; or at least, when I'm not around."

Bella cast a look at him, but said nothing. Edward chuckled.

"You don't make it easy, you know. Of course, there's the problem that I can't see what you're thinking, so I can't follow you that way... I wind up having to use either rather circuitous way or just following your scent if I lose you, like I did today. And only once I'm close enough can I..." His jaw tightened. I gently ran my fingers along his jaw, trying to get him to relax. There was a murderous gleam in his eyes that scared me a little, but I didn't let that show on my face.

"You saw what they were planning to do," I stated simply. He nodded, leaning in to nuzzle at the side of my neck. I sighed at the contact, extremely content at the moment.

"Only you can seem to reign in that detestable urge in me. I wanted to... I would have killed them then and there, with no regret and without a second thought. But then, I thought about you and what you would think of me if I did that... so I didn't... I stopped and I forced myself to control that urge within myself. You and your well-being are far more important to me, and as long as they stopped and got no further, then I suppose that it's the same in the end."

I only now realized that he'd, at some point, pulled my pants back up and redone them. I blushed, but didn't say anything about that; instead, I let my head rest on his shoulder and let my eyes drift closed. Edward filled up the silence.

"So... you figured it out, what we are..." he mused. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you figure it out?"

"On First Beach... when I was fuming about what Mike did," I felt him tense at that, "An old family friend, Jacob Black, told me one of the old legends in exchange for my telling him what had happened. I think he did it to try and cheer me up, he told me about werewolves and... vampires."

"At which point you automatically thought of me?"

"Well, no, he mentioned... your family."

Silence hung for a few moments. I bit my lip, wondering whether or not I should worry; Edward was just too silent. His cold thumb ran over my bottom lip, an unspoken request to stop; which I reluctantly did, it still didn't set aside that incessant worry that was eating away at my insides.

"And you, you said that you loved me. That you loved me despite what I am, you hardly know me, and you still said that."

"But I can learn, and I want to learn. Will you at least give me the chance to learn? That's all I'm asking for." Edward sighed.

"And you're going to have it, it's too late because I don't have it in me to hurt you; and I know that separating myself from you would only cause you unnecessary harm. I couldn't live with myself knowing that."

"I don't know what you see in me," I gave a tiny smile, "But I'm glad."

"Don't say things like that, Jasper. You fascinate me, and more then that, you're beautiful. In all of my years, I've never met anyone like you. No one has ever made me feel this confused inside, yet so sure of my feelings; it's the first time that this has happened. Is it always so potent?"

Still smiling, I looked up at him, "I'm not too sure. This is the first time that I've ever felt like this too." I hesitated, then, "Which does bring me to some other questions I have for you... I'm assuming that you're considerably much older then I am..."

"I'm nineteen," he answered promptly; I noticed that Bella rolled her eyes at that just out of the corners of my vision. I sighed.

"But how long have you been nineteen is my question," I would've pulled back to look at him, but he was cradling me so tightly and closely to himself that I found I couldn't move; not that I wanted too.

"A while," was his amused reply. I sighed and rolled my own eyes; I'd bug it out of him later, first chance I got. Then his demeanor got more serious. "You haven't asked something much more important."

"Oh?"

"My diet."

"Yes that." He waited for an explanation, when one wasn't forthcoming, he volunteered his own, probably assuming the worst.

"We don't want to be monsters, while animals don't fully satisfy the thirst, it's enough to keep us strong; strong enough to resist the thirst. But there are times... when it gets hard. You, for instance, make it very difficult for me to abstain... you are a very real temptation to my self-control in this matter."

Understanding dawned on me, "So that's why... that first day..."

"You were like a demon, that's what I thought, summoned to torture me," he inhaled deeply. "It was horrible, trying so hard to reign in that wretched monster within myself. Instead, I forced myself to think of the consequences, I risked revealing us to you, a perfect stranger; and as well, there was the ever-present threat that I just might kill you if I had even the slightest misstep of my self-control. It was incredibly difficult, but I managed. You must have thought I was possessed."

"Not really, I just assumed that you hated me at first sight. Even though that didn't make a lot of sense, what else could I think... you looked at me with such loathing that I couldn't help but assume that..."

"But it got worse, when you were in that office, such a small space, and with just one other human there... the smell, it nearly overcame me. It was so concentrated in that warm, small office... I very nearly lost control right then and there."

That's when it hit me, the reason for all his dark glares, the almost loathing that was in his manner and demeanor during all those first few times. And as well, the strange behavior that he'd exhibited, moving away from me, putting space between us whenever we'd been forced together during class. It all made sense now. As well, it also proved that part of my suspicions correct. Edward really did thirst for my blood... and I would still gladly give it.

I'd very nearly caused Ms. Cope's death, inadvertently so yes, but I would still have been responsible for it. That was the only thing that made me feel upset about the entire thing; that I would have caused someone else's death because of some attraction Edward for my blood at that time. And even now.

Very lightly, I touched his face again, tracing his lips with the tips of my fingers, "And you still feel that urge now?"

"Yes. I could have come along... but I feared that even now I might lose control of myself, even if it was just a little slip. But even then, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I had hurt you."

There was something else that I wanted to ask, so I did, "About that... I'm curious... I mean, you said before that you'd reveal what you were or you might kill me, does that mean that there were two possible scenarios, or...?"

He gave a light exhalation, ruffling my hair with his breath, "It is a little complicated, but I suppose, you do deserve to know. There's... still a chance that I might..." Edward shook himself, gathering his thoughts before he spoke once more. "It's not the bite itself that's fatal, it's whether or not the human is... drained completely of blood or not. Largely it depends on how much blood is taken, if too much is taken, then the human dies from blood loss. As well, the human can go into shock and die from that as well. Really, the Hollywood films have that much right, in some aspects."

"So the bite itself is not deadly...?" I was suddenly incredibly glad that he couldn't read my thoughts, and I was relieved for whatever weird quirk I had that made that so. Really, I knew that much.

"No. But very few of our kind have enough restraint to do that much, as well..."

This was the first instance where Bella added in to the conversation, "And besides that, biting a human means that you intend to turn them and take them as your mate."

I looked between the two of them, confused, "Mate?"

Edward gave Bella a dirty look, to which she merely shrugged; I looked between the two of them, confused. But neither seemed like they'd open up more about the subject, so it dropped quickly enough. I got the feeling that it was a subject that Edward wasn't so open to discussing, but I let it drop anyways; I'd bug him about it some other time.

For the most part, the rest of the ride back was silent; broken only when Edward _**continued**_ to ask if I was fine. My answer was always the same; I was perfectly fine now. However, the entire discussion lingered in my mind, and I was fiercely curious about what the entire 'mate' business was all about; maybe I could weasel it out of one of the other members of his family? Rosalie was completely out of the question, but Bella might be a good place to start. Of course, I'd have to wait until Edward was gone to do so; but I'd exercise patience in this regard. I could wait.

Eventually, we came into the boundaries of Forks. Bella easily guided the car through the straight-forward streets, finally pulling up into the driveway of Esme's house. Edward climbed out, with me still cradled in his arms. I turned bright pink, and mumbled something about being able to walk on my own; but Edward merely chuckled.

"Let me have my fun. Besides, you're incredibly light and this might not be a one-time experience; you should get used to it." He grinned as he walked up the walkway and knocked softly on the door.

I heard a muffled thump followed by giggles, before Esme opened the door. There was a faint tinge of pink to her cheeks, so I assumed she might have had a little too much to drink. I heard a female voice saying, "Do hurry back Esme!"

"Jasper?!" Obviously Esme hadn't been expecting me, when she caught sight of who was carrying me, she was even more surprised. "And Edward Swan?!"

"Mm? Oh Edward!" Another woman came up behind Esme, her expression quizzical, but it changed almost immediately when she saw Edward holding me on the doorstep. I noticed that she was just as pale as Edward, with dark gold eyes set in an attractive face of a woman probably in her mid-thirties but still retained a youthful look. Her hair fell around her face in waves of dark brown that was very close to being black, which accentuated her pale skin in a way that made it stand out more. My first thought was that she was a vampire too, besides, she very obviously knew Edward.

"Renée? You know Edward?" Esme looked between the two vampires, and I was sure in that moment that they knew each other. The other woman, Renée, nodded.

"He's... my brother's adopted son, of course I know him," Renée replied. I caught the meaningful look she gave Edward, as well, she had a motherly appearance to her too, and I thought, she can't be all that bad. She reminded me a little of Esme, but also, of all those old actresses from silent movies and black and white pictures. It was mostly in the way that she held herself, but also in her face too; she looked like she'd fit in well with those elegant and pretty women. She turned back to my mom, smiling warmly, "You're a little tipsy dear, why don't you go and lie down? I can take care of this, and I'd like to get better acquainted with your son too."

Esme giggled, "Alright then..." She shocked me then, leaning in and kissing Renée's pale cheek before walking, very shakily, back into the living room. I could hear a movie playing; they'd obviously been having a 'date' in my absence, not that I really cared. Esme had probably not planned on getting drunk, she'd probably planned to introduce me to Renée tonight and see what I thought about the entire situation.

"And what are you doing here Renée?" Edward asked smoothly. Renée gave him a look.

"I thought it would be rather obvious." I knew that the majority of this conversation was going on silently, and I frowned, the embarrassment fading quickly to be replaced by irritation at being kept in the dark about things that **_did_** concern me.

"And does anyone care to explain to me what is going on here?!"

That seemed to work, it jolted them both out of whatever they had been communicating and they both turned their attention to me. Edward gave me a tiny smile and set me down on my feet. I wobbled, having to grab hold of Edward to stand properly as all the blood rushing around made me dizzy; his arm wrapped itself firmly around my waist, steadying me and also holding me close. I didn't miss the look Renée gave Edward.

This could be bad. But then again, it might not be.

So instead, I turned my attention back to Edward, "You, help me upstairs. You have some explaining to do."

Renée giggled, I turned to her then, "You too."

"Yes sir!" She gave a mock salute, Edward glared at her, but said nothing. He wordlessly escorted me to the stairs and up to my room; I wasn't too surprised that he knew where it was, but I was just a little bit curious about how he did. He settled me down on the bed, after pulling off my shoes and tossing them into a corner of the room, and took a seat beside me. My hands were in his then, and he held them gently. I looked down at them, marveling at how fragile mine seemed compared to his.

He sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"You know Renée, who is dating my mom, who probably doesn't know that the both of you are vampires." I was impressed that I was able to say the word so easily; I'd thought that it would be harder. "What I want to know is, do you intend to tell her at some point?" That last part was directed at Renée, who seemed completely stunned by the fact that I knew what they were.

"You know...?" She turned to Edward. "This is dangerous, I wasn't planning on telling Esme, not yet at least... but he knows and..." She collapsed to her knees, completely and utterly floored by the news and the revelation. "How did you figure it out?"

"Old legends," I replied. "That I learned about when I was in La Push."

She gave a short, bitter laugh, "Such long memories the Quileute have..." When she looked up, I could see pain in her eyes. "I do not want to hurt Esme, I do not want to be responsible for harming her in any way, please believe me. But it is just that... humans are not supposed to know we exist, not unless..." She let the sentence hang. "It doesn't matter now, but do know that if gets serious enough, I am going to tell her."

Edward's voice was hard when he next spoke, "Do not force my hand Renée." Again, she laughed bitterly.

"I'm not forcing your hand, you know what will eventually happen Edward. You are going to face that decision sooner or later, whether it be because of them or because of what Jasper decides."

I looked between the two of them, confused by the cryptic meanings that were seemingly behind what they were saying. I dismissed it for now, but made a mental note to look into the matter later. I turned back to Renée, "As long as Esme knows what she'll be getting into, then I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Jasper, do you know what you're saying?"

"I do, Esme's an adult, she can make her own choices. And besides, I don't have much of a right to interfere with her personal matters, do I?" I asked rhetorically. I knew Esme well-enough, free-spirited and determined as hell when there was something she wanted or something that she would go after. There was a little too much of her in me, Carlisle goes with the flow much more; he doesn't get stubborn about things, in fact, he's a bit of a pushover in that regard.

There was a meaningful look in Renée's eyes when I caught her staring at Edward. She smiled warmly at me though when she noticed that I was staring at the two of them, "Right, I should introduce myself properly, I assume." Holding out her hand to me, "I'm Renée Swan, your mother's girlfriend."

I returned her smile, accepting her hand, "It's nice to meet you." Her hand was as cold as Edward's, but much more feminine and delicate, though I knew it wasn't.

"So," she stood up. "This is the little cause of your problems, Edward?" I blushed as Edward nodded. "And I see that it hasn't stopped you from pursuing a relationship with him. But you know, I figured something like this would happen; and without Alice's help, I might add."

"You saw this coming?" I asked, skeptically.

"Well, not precisely," she replied. "Anyways, I better get back to Esme and make sure she doesn't get too much more to drink." She headed towards the door, only pausing long enough when her hand was on the handle. "What should I tell her? About you returning with Edward?"

I flushed, not sure how to respond. Edward swooped in to my rescue, "Jasper had a little accident." Renée nodded.

"Tell me more about it later. I'll see you two at a later time." And then she disappeared, I didn't hear her go down the stairs, but that didn't alarm me. Vampires seemed to be able to move so gracefully and perfectly that moving without a sound didn't seem to be much of a problem for them either. One of Edward's hands slithered around my waist again, pulling me against him. A tiny sigh slipped past my lips as my head came to a rest on his shoulder; inhaling that deeply wonderful scent of his.

"I love you, you know that?" Edward murmured into my hair. I smiled at his admission. "It took me a while, I kept denying that I felt anything of that sort for you. But when I thought about everything that I've done, just to keep you alive, I realized that I was lying to myself. And if I continued to do that, I'd just end up miserable. My selfish nature prevents me from allowing that to be true, and finding that you feel the same way..."

"Don't leave me," I replied softly. "I don't get over things easily, Esme knows this, and you need to know this too... it's... when things are consistent in my life, I get used to them, and I can adapt and function in accordance to them. But if they're taken away... I can't adapt to that change so easily." I reached up, taking his face in both my hands. He looked down at me. "If you leave me, it would destroy me."

Edward leaned in, pressing his lips firmly against mine; parting them softly with his tongue before slipping in. It was a slow, almost lazy kiss, but also a very loving and tender one. He pushed me gently down onto the bed, I wondered what he was planning. My head was spinning and I felt exhausted after today's events; as well, his kiss left me completely breathless. He smiled down at me.

"You need to sleep, you're exhausted." With the same gentle reverence, he straightened me out on the bed and under the covers. I shook my head weakly, fighting against the waves of sleep that were threatening to overwhelm me. Edward smiled, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "You don't need to worry, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?" I didn't care about how much I seemed like a little kid; I just wanted to be reassured that he'd be here as I slept and when I woke up. That was what mattered.

"I promise. I don't think that Esme will be in any state of mind to make a big deal out of my staying for the night, besides, I won't do anything." There was a wicked gleam in his eyes as he said that. "For now, sleep. You need it."

I nodded, finally letting the waves of exhaustion have their way, and I gave into the blissful darkness of sleep. Little did I know that things were going to get a hell of a lot more complicated.

* * *

I originally planned for this to come out the day after I published the eighth chapter, but I got just a tad sidetracked, blame Disney. As well, all of the vampire customs and most of the vampire concepts used for the vampires in _Poison_ are borrowed from my incomplete and unpublished work, _Midnight's Requiem_, which also features vampires. I hope no one minds that, I do take certain liberties as this is: a) a fanfiction, and b) it's a rewrite of the original _Twilight_ so I can take my own certain artistic liberties. So there.

How did you all like Renée and Bella's first big appearances? Stay tuned for more! Chapter ten will be out ASAP. Just let me finish up the second chapter of _Sleep Beauty Bright_, and it shall be done.

Review? :3

Twilight.


	11. Chapter 10: Still Doll

**A/N:** I just found out that it's completely possible to have your soul stolen by a pairing and then enslaved by it. Sorry, but I've had a resurgence of my addiction to another manga, so I've been wrapped up in that... though five hundred and fifty eight chapters is a lot to catch up on. _sigh_  
Oh! And as of now, _Poison_ has a COMPLETE CAST. Yes, this is true. Go check it out right now and comment! You can find it on my LiveJournal. :D  
**Words:** 6 582 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however. I do not own the song _Juliet_ which is in this chapter, it's the property of Emilie Autumn.

**Chapter 10: Still Doll**

The next morning I woke up disoriented and chilled, but when the events of the day before crashed back down into my self-awareness, I didn't care. In fact, it made me ecstatic. A single glance at the clock told me that it was much earlier then what I normally got up at, and I happily snuggled back into Edward, my cheek resting on his cold chest over his still heart.

I wanted to stay there longer, but we didn't have that much time. My jaw ached, probably from where I'd taken that punch yesterday, but I was perfectly content and I didn't want to move. Much less go to school. Why couldn't it be the weekend already?!

Apparently, Edward shared my sentiment, as his hands smoothed over my hair and he pressed a light kiss to the top of my head. I blushed.

"Good morning Jasper," he greeted me in that soft, melodic voice of his that just made me want to **_melt_**. "Did you sleep well?" I could hear a trace of amusement in his voice and gave a tiny pout; he chuckled. "You do realize that you are simply adorable when you do that."

I could feel my cheeks heat up, "... it's childish." I knew that, but if he thought it was adorable then maybe I'd do it more often; just to hear him chuckle. But what I wanted more was to hear him laugh, like really laugh, I'd have to work harder for that it seemed.

"Here, you should start getting ready for school," he released me as he sat up, I noticed the circles under his eyes were lighter now, not as dark and pronounced. "You're normally up by now."

I froze at that. How the hell could he know?! Edward read my stunned expression, and planted his hands on either side of my arms, leaning over me. "Jasper? Is there something wrong?"

"H-how...? How did you know that...?" My voice was breathy and filled with shock; I wasn't sure how I'd react to his answer, but we were about to find out.

He frowned, "I... I come here quite often, just to watch you. At night. There's not much more to do."

"You... you come here?!" I wasn't horrified or anything, in fact I was rather flattered. This wasn't a normal reaction, and I knew it. But hey, if he wanted to stalk me then I had no problem with it; not everyone gets such a handsome stalker who isn't mentally unhinged.

His eyebrow rose, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well... how often do you come?"

"Almost every night." My mouth dropped open. Edward continued, "I'm not too sure why I do it, maybe it's the fact that when you sleep you just look so peaceful, and I wish that I could have that too. But more then that, I think that I just like to watch you sleep, it makes me feel peaceful too. And sometimes, I get lucky and you talk."

Now I was confused. I talked when I slept? That made no sense, I'd lived with Carlisle since I was a baby, and he was an incredibly light sleeper so he would have noticed something like that. And he'd never said something. So I didn't know what to make of it.

"It's only when you're restless," Edward continued. "And it's not very often. You normally sleep extremely peacefully and you're not restless, but when you are, you talk sometimes. It's not complete sentences or anything, just disconnected words."

"What have I said?" Now I was curious.

"Sometimes it's nonsensical, just random words, but... you say my name the most." My cheeks flamed and I broke eye contact, looking to the side, horribly embarrassed. Edward gently guided my face back so he could look at me, and there was a warm smile on his face. "Hush, you don't need to be embarrassed, if I could dream, you would always be there. I'm not ashamed of that."

He leaned down and kissed me then, and it was nothing like yesterday. Today it was slow and loving, there was no worried edge to it, and I melted against him, arms coming up to wrap around his neck and pull him down to me. We stayed like that until he pulled back to let me breathe, I gasped for breath, completely breathless. Edward smiled and let his forehead rest against mine for a little before sighing and climbing off of me.

"Come, you need to get ready for breakfast. I'll meet you downstairs, alright?" he told me as I climbed out of bed, I nodded at him in response. He kissed my cheek before I scurried out to the bathroom for my usual morning routine.

Taking a look in the mirror, I was a little surprised at what I saw. My cheeks were still a little pink and my eyes were sparkling, wide, and warm. I'd never felt this way before, my heart was pounding in my chest and I was happier then I could ever remember myself being. This had to be love, and not the fleeting high school love that I'd seen all around me, but real and true love; the kind that you don't find very often. I smiled and it just made my face seem all the more brighter.

I finished up quickly and very nearly danced into my room, my heart was swelling. I was close to humming and I couldn't wipe the goofy smile off my face, but I didn't mind in the slightest. I dressed in my usual T-shirt, jeans, and hoodie ensemble before practically skipping down the stairs and into the kitchen. I wasn't surprised to find both Edward and Renée there, the latter fixing up something for breakfast that smelled delicious. However, what did surprise me was that Edward was wearing fresh clothes. Okay, I wasn't so much surprised as I was confused. He couldn't have gone home and changed before I'd gotten down here, he wasn't that fast, was he?

Slowly, I walked over to the table, and was about to go over and ask Renée if she needed help or anything when a pair of strong, cold arms came around my waist and pulled me into an equally cold lap. My cheeks warmed up, and the thought drifted across my mind that I should probably get used to things like this happening; after all, this was the third time in two days that I'd found myself in Edward's lap.

Edward chuckled, and I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I ignored it as best I could, and asked Renée, "You don't have to cook... I can make breakfast for myself just fine."

She immediately whirled around with a giant smile on her face and placed a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me, "I'm going to be around a lot more, besides, I enjoy cooking." She stepped away and went back to her cooking, I noticed that she also had a glass and painkillers waiting near the corner of the counter; it didn't take much deduction for me to realize that it was for Esme when she woke up.

I made a mental note to never get drunk, it wouldn't be worth the hangover.

For the most part, breakfast was quiet with Edward's breathing cool on my neck like his lips. I didn't freeze or anything, but my cheeks were still red and I knew that it would be able before I wouldn't blush every time that he kissed me. I got the feeling that Edward actually enjoyed seeing me blush; one thing I didn't think would ever stop was the way my heart swelled and thudded every time he did kiss me.

When I'd finished, Renée was instantly there, taking my plate away and placing it in the sink where she'd watch it later. She saw Edward and I off with a wave and smile before disappearing back inside to wake Esme up and help her deal with her hangover.

When we climbed into the car, Edward holding the door open for me as he always did, and he popped out my Nightwish CD and popped in another. I watched as he pulled out of the driveway as well as skipping through until he found the song he was looking for. I waited the instrumental opening started, and I wondered if it was a soundtrack maybe or opera or classical music; that's how it sounded. However, when this rather techno sound joined in, I was confused, this wasn't something I'd heard before. I looked to Edward for an explanation.

He smiled, "Just listen. I thought you might like it."

'_You're in my stars you know  
Don't need a crystal ball to tell me so  
Whispering in the air  
Hoping that my words find you somewhere  
Even when I close my eyes  
I'll never recreate the time that flies  
The consequence is hanging there  
The sky will fall but I don't care._'

I silently listened as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street, feeling utterly and completely content and happy. The hole that had started to form in his absence was gone, replaced by a fluttering in my stomach and a few other emotions that I wasn't too familiar with. I shook out of my thoughtful mood in order to listen to the song; I wanted to know why he thought that I might like it.

The sound was unique, almost classical but with a techno feel to it that gave it the distinctive sound. As well, the lyrics chilled me a little due to how much they seemed to eerily echo how I felt about him. What's more, I watched as he held something out to me. It was a small wrapped square with red ribbon wrapped around it and tied into a bow, I looked at it and then at him.

"It's for you," Edward said simply with a smile. When I still didn't take it, he continued. "I know most relationships start of differently then this, but will you at least accept this gift from me?"

I blushed, feeling stupid for making him have to explain it to me and accepted the gift from him with a murmured, "Thanks." Like I said, I don't have much of a dating history to go on; and I don't think that even if I did, that it would be of much help in this situation.

Carefully, I untied the ribbon and removed it, setting it aside before removing the wrapping paper as well. I stared at what was inside.

There were two CDs there, one was a copy of Nightwish's _Dark Passion Play_; a replacement for the copy I'd lost on the day Lauren tried to turn me into a pancake. The other was one that I didn't recognize. I looked at it more closely. The album was called _Enchant_ by someone named Emilie Autumn; I flipped the case over so that I could take a look at the track list.

Edward spoke as I was examining it, "The song that we're listening to is from that album. I stumbled across her in the store when I was looking for that CD that you lost. She sounded like something that you might like, so I bought it as well."

We'd pulled into the parking lot of the school by now, Edward drives exceedingly fast for someone living in a small town, and he was just maneuvering his car into its usual spot; which was now beside Rosalie's convertible. I looked to him and smiled.

"Thanks Edward." I wasn't sure what I should do next, what are you supposed to do when your new boyfriend gets you a gift that you weren't expecting but are really happy to get? God, I'm an idiot. I'd have to ask **_Emmett_** of all people for relationship advice, and he's not exactly the best person to ask. So I decided that I'd just improvise.

Quickly, I leaned over and gave Edward a quick kiss on the cheek.

That seemed to please him as he gave me a warm smile before taking my face in both of his cold hands and kissing me much more firmly and less chastely on the lips. I let a soft sigh slip past my lips, I was unbelievably happy and deliriously in love; this was more then I'd hoped for or expected when I'd self-exiled myself to Forks.

Things were starting to look up.

Edward cut the engine and climbed out, I'd already started to do the same when he was at my side and holding the door as I got out. He shut the door behind me and locked the car, taking my hand in his as we started towards the school itself. I was suddenly come over with a rush of embarrassment as everyone's eyes were on us, or to be more specific, on me. Edward seemed completely unaffected by the attention on us as we walked by the parking lot, hands entwined and towards the school buildings; in fact, he didn't even seem to notice how everyone was staring at us.

I didn't want to go to my first class, because that meant that I'd be stuck sitting with Mike for the entire English class, along with Jess. That would be hell because Jess would immediately ask about what had happened with Edward last night, and then Mike would jump on because he _**hated**_ Edward and would be trying to convince me that he was a better choice, and then Jess would get mad at **_me_** because Mike would admit that he liked me a lot which would spawn a fight and a nasty break-up, and I'd be the one who'd wind up paying.

Something of what I was dreading must have shown on my face because Edward stopped when we were under the overhang of the cafeteria roof and turned to look at me, scrutinizing my face carefully. His eyes carefully read my own, "Are you alright Jasper? You seem... tense."

I shook my head, "I'm not looking forward to English."

This only seemed to confuse and frustrate him further, and I remembered that he couldn't just read my thoughts to figure out what I meant. I decided to elaborate, after all, this involved him too.

"Jess and Mike. I have no idea what he's been thinking dating Jess like that and then turning around and telling me that he likes me and kissing me. But I know that Jess won't be happy, no matter what the truth is."

My reminding Edward of how Mike had forcefully taken my first kiss didn't seem smart, as his eyes hardened and his jaw was set; his hand also tightened around mine. I wasn't sure what to say or how to react, but I wondered what was going through his mind.

The bell ringing didn't register in my mind at first until I felt a gentle tapping on the side of my arm. Turning my attention briefly away from Edward to see who it was, I was slightly surprised to see Angela standing there. Her face was warm and friendly, as always, and she had a friendly smile on her face.

"Hey Jasper," she greeted me. "Hello Edward." There was a slightly tremor in her voice as she greeted Edward, she was obviously a little nervous around him, but she did seem a little concerned. I prayed it wasn't because of how obvious it was that Edward and I were together. "You two are going to be late."

"What?" I realized that people were already abandoning the sidewalks for classrooms. I sighed and turned to Edward. "I'll see you later, okay? At lunch?" Edward nodded, and before I could react, he pulled me close for a moment and kissed my temple.

He turned away, walking toward wherever his class was, calling over his shoulder, "I'll see you Jasper."

Several people turned to look at me at that, and I flushed a little, but I let Angela guide me away and towards English. It was only then that I remembered she was in my English class as well, I'd been here for a few months already and I hadn't noticed that? But then again, I hadn't noticed very many people outside of Jess and Mike in English, they always made sure that my attention was focused solely on them and whatever it was that they were talking about. It wasn't completely my fault.

Angela was demonstrating what I liked about her, she didn't pry into why Edward and I had been holding hands, or why he'd hugged me and kissed me before going to class. But I was a little curious about why she'd turned up right then.

"Angela? What were you doing at the cafeteria?"

She looked at me for a moment, "I was worried about you, after yesterday. I did want to ask you if you were okay, but you seem fine. You are, right?" There was still a little timid edge to her voice, but it was still the same calm and warm voice that she always had, I felt comfortable around her.

"Yes, I'm fine Angela, you don't have to worry about me." I sighed as we reached the entrance to the classroom, she looked at me.

"Do you want to sit with me?" she asked. I liked that she didn't ask why I seemed so hesitant to go in, she simply asked that. I nodded and she led me to her seat in the middle of the class and I took a seat beside her. I noticed that Jess glared at me, she obviously wanted details about what had happened last night; and Mike was glaring at me too, he'd obviously found out about last night or had seen me and Edward this morning.

Today simply wasn't turning out to be my day. I sat by Angela, who didn't ask me one question at all the entire time. But I knew she could feel the gloom that had settled over me, I knew that I couldn't avoid Jess and Mike forever; I'd have to face this situation eventually. But I'd rather put it off for as long as I could.

If I got lucky, I could avoid them for the entire day.

Angela surprised me; I hadn't known that she was in most of my classes. She just wasn't in my gym class, she'd had it last semester. But that made it easier for me to avoid Jess and Mike, they didn't seem to want to confront me when I was her; they valued her as a close friend and wouldn't want her to see the ugly argument that would take place. I doubted they'd extend the same courtesy to Edward.

She was also a great person to talk too, I was getting really wound up, and worried that I'd burst at some point. Angela seemed to hesitate for a moment as we were walking to Legal Studies, but she eventually asked, "If you need someone to talk to Jasper, you can talk to me."

I smiled at her, "Thanks Ange." She returned the smile and we continued through the morning just talking about things; random things like funny moments from our childhoods and what sort of experiences we'd had growing up.

I was surprised to find out that her parents were divorced and that she lived in Forks with her dad and her younger twin sisters. Her mother lived in New York where she worked as a highly regarded criminal defense attorney, while her father had a job as a mechanic here in Forks. While her mother wanted custody of her, but not the twins, Angela had instead chosen to stay in Forks with her father because she liked small town life better. Besides, she said, New York smelled a lot like horse poop.

That made me laugh.

We were still laughing over a stupid stunt that Emmett had pulled when we were kids when we left math, at which point Edward joined us. He smiled at me and Angela, who tentatively smiled back; it wasn't that she didn't like him, it's just that Edward's slightly intimidating when his full attention's on you and when he smiles it makes you want to melt and just stand there and gawk at his perfection. Trust me, I feel that way a lot.

Both of them didn't have a problem with each other, and Edward didn't mind her joining us at our table for lunch. I smiled, happy that if worst came to worst, that I'd at least have one really good friend who'd stand by me. Edward bought a tray of food, as usual, I'd end up eating most of it and he wouldn't touch it, while Angela waited patiently. She brought her own lunch from home.

"Just you wait Jasper," Edward was saying as we walked to the table and sat down. "Renée is going to start making you lunch now."

"Renée?" Angela looked between the both of us. "Isn't your mother's name Esme, Jasper?"

I sat down across from Edward and beside Angela, "My mom's Esme, Renée is her... girlfriend I guess." I wasn't actually too sure what Renée and Esme were, but that was probably the best that I could offer as an explanation to Angela. "She's doctor Swan's sister."

"Oh yes, that's right," Angela nodded. "She's not in town very much, she's an artist, isn't she Edward?" Her attention to Edward when she asked that.

"Yes, Renée works out of Port Angeles as an artist and sculptor," Edward replied.

Lunch continued in that way, with us spending it in casual conversation about a variety of topics that came up. It was the first time in Forks that I'd felt completely at home and at peace; I had one friend I could count on, and a boyfriend who really loved me. This was more then I'd hoped for coming here, and even more then what I'd expected to have back in Vancouver. I didn't want to leave Forks.

When the bell rang signifying the end of lunch, Angela excused herself when Jess waved her over. Edward frowned but didn't say anything about it, instead he took my hand again and we left the cafeteria and made our way towards Biology. I wasn't sure what Jess was expecting to get out of Angela, but I was pretty sure that it wasn't what she wanted to get; Angela's very good at keeping secrets, plus she's not a bad liar either.

I kept my head ducked, my cheeks were brightly aflame because everyone was staring at us and our connected hands as we made our way to Biology. The attention didn't seem to bug Edward very much, but I found it discomforting; when we finally arrived, almost everyone was already there, and they were all staring at us in complete shock. The heat in my face just grew, but Edward was striding forward purposefully and he led me to our seats in the middle of the room; he released my hand as we sat down.

"So about this weekend..." Edward began, I turned to him immediately. Mr. Banner hadn't come in yet, so pretty much everyone was still talking. I dimly noticed that Mike was glaring hard at Edward's back and even at me, but I pretended I hadn't noticed him. "The weather is going to be poor on Saturday in Seattle and here, of course, so that's still on. But I was thinking about Sunday..."

"What about Sunday?"

"You could meet my family." My mouth fell open and I stared at him in shock.

"M-meet your family?!" Damn it, I was nervous as hell. I didn't even know if his family liked me! And Rosalie...

"You don't have to be afraid," Edward was quick to reassure me. "They won't hurt you, I promise. I'll keep you safe."

Shaking my head, I explained, "I'm not afraid of them. It's just... well... won't they be expecting... a girl? Or just someone who's not me?"

There was an unfamiliar look on Edward's face as he pondered my answer for a moment, thinking of a response. Then, "Not necessarily. Times have been changing, both Renée and Charlie have worried about me, seeing as I haven't found anyone. But they're happy that I'm happy, they'll accept you. Renée's already accepted you; she's always been rather motherly."

"O-oh... what about Alice and Bella?"

He smiled, "Bella doesn't care, but she does like you. And in fact, I think she's relieved that she's not the only one who's thoughts I cannot see. As for Alice, she's been the most understanding about this entire thing."

"You can't read her thoughts either? I'm not alone?" That made me feel better, I'd worried that I was some kind of freak since he could read everyone else's thoughts except mine; even though I was sort of relieved by that. Bella having a similar ability made me feel less alone.

"No, she's always been that way. She's immune to those gifts which work within the mind, I think you're like her in that regard." I nodded as his hand found mine under the table pulling it so that it rested on his thigh; his thumb traced circles lightly on the side of my hand. I didn't mind the chill that emanated off his skin.

Edward's ambidextrous, so he was able to write down the notes that Mr. Banner was putting up on the board for us in a neat, elegant script that made me feel completely envious. What's he not good at? I was able to take notes too, as I'm right-handed and Edward had a firm hold of my left, but it was a little difficult and awkward. My notes weren't as neat as Edward's, but the content smile on his face made it worth having a disaster of notes; I could recopy them later.

Biology ended way too quickly and I wasn't happy that I'd have to separate from Edward soon. In fact, I was dreading it because it meant that it would give Mike the chance to corner me without Jess around. I wasn't ready to face the executioner just yet. My hand tightened in Edward's as he walked me to gym.

"You're tense Jasper," he whispered. "Are you worried about Newton?" The venom in his voice when he said Mike's name was nearly tangible, it made me swallow hard.

"Y-yes..." I squeaked, Edward pulled me into a warm embrace which I melted into.

"Ignore him as best you can, if he does **_anything_**, tell me immediately, do you hear me Jasper?" Edward's voice was as smooth as velvet, but the threat in his voice was very much real. I only worried more about the upcoming confrontation because of that; what could Mike be planning that had Edward so on edge. "I will try and have you pulled from this class."

There was a brief chaste kiss pressed to my lips before Edward swept out of there with all the grace and power of a lion. I watched him go silently, hoping that I wouldn't have to see him in battle.

"Hey Jaz." Mike came up.

"Hi Mike," I turned away and strode into the change room and quickly changed into my gym clothes before exiting into the gym and joined the mass of kids who were getting rackets and birdies before heading out onto the courts to warm-up. When I turned around after getting one, I nearly face planted into Mike. When had he gotten here?

"I'll warm up with you." Was it just me or was there a double meaning in his words? Maybe I was just overreacting about this whole thing, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I'd initially thought that it might be.

"Uhh... sure, okay."

Gym class wasn't too bad, but dread had settled into the pit of my stomach. Something had to happen, the tension was palpable in the air and I could nearly taste it. I felt like heaving by the time we cleaned up the gym and put the equipment away.

I was sluggish when changing today, my stomach was up in knots and I didn't know what to expect so I moved slower then I normally did; by the time I'd finished changing, the locker room was empty. At least, it looked like it was.

Before I could leave, I was pinned up against the lockers by Mike. His left hand was planted beside my head, and his body was angled to prevent me from escaping; it wasn't like I could overpower him anyways, he was considerably taller then I was and was stronger too. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as he leaned in a little to close. He wasn't going to rape me, was he?

Things weren't looking good at this point.

"I thought I warned you to stay away from Swan," Mike voice was cold, but I could still hear the concern and a touch of envy in it.

"That's none of your business Mike," I replied icily, but I was scared.

"He's not good for you Jaz, he's everything that's completely wrong for you. I know this, I have a feeling that you're going to get hurt if you stay with him."

I knew that Mike was just trying to be a good friend, but he was being way too overprotective and I really didn't care at this point that I was putting my safety, my **_life_** in danger. Just like I'd told Edward, I was in too deep and there was no way I was getting out of it. My entire being shied away from the pain that cutting Edward out of my life would cause; he was the first person to make me feel whole, and also the only one that I wanted.

"Edward would never hurt me. And how do you know what's wrong for me?"

Arguing with Mike wasn't probably the smartest thing to do, but there was some part of me that compelled me to do so; I wanted him to be sure that there was no way that I'd ever leave Edward.

"You feel stronger about him, to him you're just a passing fling, someone new. You're the newest and most interesting person in Forks right now, the moment that he gets bored with you he'll toss you aside like yesterday's garbage." Mike was trembling.

"I told you that I don't feel the same way that you do!"

"I'd be much safer for you, I wouldn't hurt you or throw you aside." Oh great, Mike was trying to win me over now. "You'd be happy with me."

"You don't know that Mike."

"Give me a chance Jasper, let me show you what you're missing."

"I don't-" I was quite firmly interrupted when Mike pressed his lips forcefully against mine again. I immediately tried to push him away, but his arms had already come around and were holding me tightly against him. When I tried to turn my face away, one of his hands roughly grabbed my face to hold me still. I gasped as pain wracked through me when his hand pressed down on the bruise I'd gotten yesterday, but Mike didn't seem to notice that I was in pain, he was too busy taking advantage of my parted lips.

I took my chance and bit down on his tongue as I brought my knee up into his crotch sharply and with as much force as I could muster. Mike doubled over, releasing me as his hands went to his groin and he cried out sharply with pain. Seizing my freedom, I bolted straight for the door and outside.

Throwing the door open, I pelted towards the parking lot, hoping and praying that Edward would be there waiting for me. I didn't care if anyone saw me in the state I was in, I just wanted to get to Edward.

He was there, leaning against his car and staring aimlessly at the sky, but his head snapped around to look at me. My eyes welled up with tears and I ran full out and slammed into him, nearly knocking myself to the ground in the process. Edward's arms caught me and held me to him the moment I collided with him.

Burying my face in his shoulder, I breathed in his scent in shallow gasps as I fought to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. I'd apparently shocked Edward with my panicked and wild behavior, but he wrapped his arms around me, tangling one hand in my hair. Several minutes passed before I'd regained enough of myself to think rationally and breathe properly; I relaxed into Edward.

"Jasper...?" he was confused. But then he stiffened, I peeked up to look at him better and saw that his eyes were hard and was glaring angrily at someone. Turning my head around a little, I saw just who it was.

Mike.

He was glaring at us, with abject hatred in his eyes and a look of pure rage on his face. But that wasn't what scared me the most about this entire situation, what did was the look of cold fury on Edward's. He just radiated it as he released me and stepped in front of me.

Edward's voice was icy when he spoke to me, "Stay back Jasper."

I nodded mutely, not wanting to infuriate him anymore then he already was. Edward took two steps away from me before stopping, Mike was only a foot from him now. I shook and looked between the two of them, hoping that this wouldn't come to blow. As much as I hated Mike at this point, I didn't want to see him dead; but more then that, I didn't want to have to lose Edward.

"Swan."

"Newton."

Of the two voices, Edward's was much deadlier. But Mike had let his anger take him too far to realize the very real threat that he was facing if he pressed too many of Edward's buttons. I clasped my hands together and took one miniscule step forward, this did involve me but disregarding Edward's command would be stupid. I'd stay back.

"I'm aware that you've forced your affections onto my boyfriend twice now."

"You don't deserve to call him your boyfriend or anything like that," Mike spat. I winced, but was instantly inflamed. Edward shot me a glance over his shoulder, but said nothing to me.

"_**Jasper**_," he stressed my name, "Can choose whoever he likes to call him that. It's quite obvious that he's made his lack of feelings for you very apparent. He's rejected you twice, using physical means to do so as you are very ignorant about body language and what the word 'no' means." Ouch, blow to the pride there.

"He deserves better then a bastard like you." I gasped sharply at that, and there was a pang in my heart as I felt anger begin to prick at me.

"That may be true, but I'm the bastard that he wants. Why don't we let Jasper decide who he wants to be with?" Edward stepped to the side leaving me in full view of both boys. I looked between both of them, confused. "You decide Jasper," Edward told me in a soft voice.

My decision was made before he'd even finished his sentence. I stepped to Edward and pressed myself against his side, taking his hand in both of mine and squeezing it as I entwined our fingers together. My eyes were on his the entire time, "Do you really need to ask?"

"I suppose not," Edward replied, then he turned back to Mike; his voice slipped back into that dangerous, cold rage. "If you even so much as come near Jasper with the thought of attempting to force yourself upon him again, you will regret it."

Apparently Mike didn't take the hint and took a step forward, "Jaz, think about it, I'm-"

The punch was much too fast for me to see it. But Mike was suddenly on the ground and Edward was in front of me in a defensive stance, his fist raised. I knew immediately that Edward had held back substantially as Mike's head hadn't cracked open or separated from his body. However, he was holding cheek, and I guessed that a bruise would be form there overnight.

"I warned you, I suggest you heed it if you enjoy life."

Edward whirled around gracefully, his arm coming around my waist possessively and guided me back to his car. He pulled the door open roughly and I heard the hinges whine at the force.

"Get in Jasper." I nodded and hopped in quickly, the moment I was in he slammed the door. Not a second later he was already climbing in the driver's seat and starting the car.

The car was silent as he pulled out onto the road and I wondered whether or not I should break the silence. Finally, Edward spoke, "He's right, you do deserve better then me."

"Whether Mike is right or wrong isn't the problem here, and isn't important," I replied, still angry. "You're the one that I love and the one that I want with me. And you do deserve me, hell, you deserve so much more then anything I could ever give you."

With a wild swerve, Edward pulled to the side of the road. I slammed against the passenger side door, suddenly glad I was wearing a seat belt. His hands were shaking on the wheel, holding onto it too tightly. I reached over and let mine rest over his.

Faster then I could catch, he had my hand in his and was leaning over so that our faces were scant centimeters apart. I inhaled sharply and stared right into his eyes, fighting to control my body and to keep thinking straight.

"I'm dangerous, Jasper. You have to realize that. I'm not what you need, you deserve someone human who doesn't have to be so careful with you, who doesn't run the risk of killing or hurting you every time that they're alone with you. Jasper, you deserve to be safe and in love."

Already I was shaking my head, "I feel safe with you, that's enough. Please Edward, I don't care if you're dangerous, if you're a killer. None of that matters to me! What matters is that you love me. Edward, you could hurt me, but that wouldn't change how I feel. Nothing would change that."

There was a black look in his eyes as he responded, "I am a killer, Jasper. I've killed before, I've killed people Jasper. I'm a murderer. These hands have held people down as I kill them; this mouth has tasted blood and drained it from people; these lips have sealed over the wounds that have killed many people. I'm tainting you Jasper."

I shook my head wildly and took advantage of our close proximity to press my lips fervently against his. The kiss was short-lived as I pulled away when he didn't respond.

"Kiss me Edward! I don't care! I DON'T CARE! _**You**_ are all that matters to me, you're more important then anyone else, then anything else. I love you Edward! I'll say it here, or in front of anyone. _**I love you**_. Kiss me, taint me, take me, own me, love me. You could do anything to me, and I would still love you! You've killed, but that's in your nature! I understand, and I still love you. That's not going to change. Edward, **_kiss me now_**!"

And he did. He pressed me right up against the door with near bruising force as his lips descended on mine, his tongue forcing it's way into my mouth and completely dominating me. I didn't care, Edward was kissing me with such a passion and such blistering possession that left no question in my mind that he owned me. This inhuman, beautiful, and deadly creature owned me. I was his and I wanted him to know that; to know that no one else could ever hold sway over me like he did, that no one else would ever come close to what he meant to me.

I love him.

That wouldn't change. Never.

I am his.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Whew! This is by far the longest chapter that I've written for this story thus far and wow what a roller coaster! I hope you all enjoyed it! This whole chapter is a whopping eleven pages long, that's more then I've ever written in my whole life! I'm not kidding this chapter is HUGE.

Yes, I hope you enjoyed your blistering ride through the tangled and lovely thing that is Edward/Jasper and the latest installment of _Poison_. I'm going to the Midnight Masque they're holding at Chapters to celebrate the release of _Breaking Dawn_, and I am so making myself a Edward/Jasper t-shirt to wear for it. If you have any suggestions about what should go on it, leave 'em here for me in your comments. I deserve something for writing this.

All in one day too.

As well, go check out the post I've made that details everything that's out there for Poison right now! I've got a cast list up as well as links to all the chapters that are up and extras too. Expect the first volume of the chapter songs to be out soon too. Once I've completed up to chapter thirteen, it'll be out for download. But do leave your comments on the cast there.

Until next time!

Twilight.


	12. Chapter 11: Cold As Ice

**A/N:** Anyways, I'm really excited right now for a number of reasons. Firstly, _Breaking Dawn_ comes out at the end of this week; I'm totally pumped for that. Secondly, I finished my CALM ahead of schedule; so I don't have to worry about that anymore. And thirdly, all the feedback that I've been getting; I feel very famous at this moment. Okay okay, so I'm kidding with that; but seriously, thanks you guys, the comments and the reviews really make me feel so much better. :D  
Also, I'm not even _**remotely**_ familiar with the city of Seattle, so I hope that you all can forgive me for any inaccuracies that may be present. Like I've said, I'm just an ignorant Canadian student with very limited knowledge of American cities; I've only ever been to New York, Orlando, and some places in California when I was really little. So sorry if there's any blaring problems.  
**Words:** 5 411 words  
**Disclaimer:** _Twilight_ and its characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer, and not me. I am only borrowing them for this and make no attempt to claim them as my own (even though I really wish they were mine). The ideas and the plot (semi-so), do belong to me however. I don't own _New Moon_, or Bleach, or the _Chronicles of Narnia_; they're the property of Stephanie Meyer, Tite Kubo, and C.S. Lewis and Disney, not me.

**Chapter 11: Cold As Ice**

Thursday more then lived up to my non-expectations. Mike spent the entire day glowering at Edward which only put him more on edge and in even more of a foul mood then he'd been when I'd first seen him that day way back in Biology. I could only imagine what sort of thoughts were going through Mike's head; and frankly, I wasn't sure that I wanted to know.

Unfortunately, Mike hard glares and his lack of attention on Jess was causing a lot of stress to their relationship. In fact, she was now sending **_me_** dirty looks; which didn't improve Edward's mood at all. You see, it's one thing to have a protective vampire for a boyfriend; it's another when people seem to be purposely looking for ways to piss them off further.

Honestly, can't anyone _**NOT**_ hate me?

So there I was, sitting in Biology with a raging vampire beside me who also seems to have a huge possessive streak. Edward's hand was tight on mine as we listened to Mr. Banner drone on about something that I'd already learned; I was largely tunning it out and trying to figure something out that didn't involve us having to be at school tomorrow. By this point, I didn't care what others thought about me and Edward. I was perfectly and utterly content.

Edward seemed to be of the same mind, as he'd somehow managed to get me out of Gym in the space of just one day. I was incredibly surprised at how quickly he'd gotten me out of that one class where I was alone with Mike; I got the feeling that he didn't want me to be anywhere alone with him. For that, I was relieved.

So I found myself at home earlier then usual, sitting on the couch with the TV turned to a news channel and the volume low. Edward was resting with his head in my lap and his feet hanging off the arm of the sofa. I was curled up a little, running my hand absently through Edward's hair. I could smell Renée cooking in the kitchen, and I wondered just what it was she was whipping up for tonight. Probably something special to make up for Esme's little problem with the wine last night; it still made me smile.

A drunken Esme is rather funny to see.

"You're really tense right now Edward," I muttered as some murder case in Seattle was brought up in the news. "What was Mike thinking about that's got you in such a foul mood?"

Snorting, Edward crossed his arms, "**_Newton_**," he stressed the name with venom, "seems to firmly believe that I'm out to hurt you. As well, his fantasies are getting on my nerves. I've never seen such a... horrendous mess of hormones before in my life."

Oh, now I was pissed. "He's fantasizing about me?!" I was going to throttle Mike first chance I got.

No wait, running him over with Edward's car sounded better. Maybe if I threatened him enough, he'd leave me the hell alone. Apparently, Edward was of a similar mindset.

"Honestly, does he not get the meaning of the word 'no'? I believe you were quite clear that you wanted nothing to do with him in any romantic sense," Edward wasn't happy at all. I wouldn't be surprised if this led to a fight; Mike seemed to have an aptitude for pushing all of Edward's buttons.

"Do you think if I tried to run him over he'd give up on me? Or what about if I punched him in the face?" Edward chuckled a little.

"I'd rather not see you hauled in for attempted murder or assault Jasper," Edward gave a tiny smile and reach up to lightly touch my cheek. "Why don't we give him a few days to blow off some of his aggression?"

I looked down at him sharply, "You wanna skip tomorrow?"

"It's healthy, every now and then." I grinned.

"Sure, that is, if you've got something planned that you wanna do with me." Edward smiled and took my hand in his; tracing the lines that were there.

"Well, I was thinking about maybe driving out to Seattle a day early and you and I could do something; you know, just the two of us."

My cheeks warmed up all of a sudden, "Y-you mean like a... date?!"

"Does that not suit you?" Edward was smirking now, which didn't help my blush one bit. I must have been redder then a tomato by this point; I could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks and I looked away.

"That's not it, it's just... I've never been on a date before, so..." Edward smiled and trailed a finger down my cheek. "I mean... oh, I don't even know what I mean anymore." I shrugged and smiled at him. "Sure, why not."

This seemed to cheer Edward up exponentially, so I decided not to let him onto the butterflies that had settled into my stomach. It wasn't that I was nervous about being alone with Edward; I was worried about how our date tomorrow would go. I had absolutely no idea how to act or what to do on a first date; like I'd said before, I've never been on a date before. Well, I guess it was a little late to hate my lack of a dating history. Maybe I could ask Emmett...?

Oh wait, I wouldn't get a reply until the date was already over at best.

Crap.

Edward left me after another two hours of watching the news, just about an hour before Esme got home. In the meantime, I slipped upstairs with the intent to check my email. I was getting behind on that, I know, and I felt a little guilty that I was neglecting my cousin so; but I guess I have a screwed up priority list. Eh, I'm more concerned with the here and now at this point. And my relationship with Edward seemed to be a little more important to me then my relationship with Emmett.

Clicking on the little icon after I flopped onto my desk chair, I deleted all the junk mail before finding the reply from Emmett. I opened it.

'_You're whipped already? Huh, I never figured that you'd fall in love so quickly, or even find that sort of thing in **Forks** of all places. But then, aunt Esme does say that you have a tendency to fall hard and fast so I'm hoping this guy is going to take very good care of your heart; otherwise there'll be blood to pay. So you'd better be right (you usually are) that he's in love with you too._

_'Oh? A date for this Saturday? I thought you were coming down to Seattle then, so how about the two of you come down and you can introduce him to me? I'm hearing so much about this guy that I'm starting to get a little jealous that you've seemed to have found this perfect guy. Since this is so surprising, are there any other hot single guys in Forks? Or girls for that matter? Dude, I should come down first chance I get!_'

I smiled and rolled my eyes at Emmett's response. Emmett had come out about three years ago that he batted for both teams, I hadn't judged him at all; but I had asked to quit trying to find me someone when he first started university in Seattle. At that point I'd only been fourteen and nowhere near old enough to date. Emmett had laid off, but he'd gotten back onto my case a little more lately. My relationship with Edward would probably turn him off completely from doing his matchmaking. I started typing out a response.

'_No I'm not whipped, very funny Emmett. And I didn't think I'd fall in love this much, or find the person of my dreams in Forks. But Edward's... well he's different. He's got that sort of old-world charm and I suppose chivalry too; he's really a unique and special guy, I've never met anyone like him. By the way, I know I'm right. Edward really does love me; he's even defended me against a jealous guy who seems so convinced that he'd be better for me then Edward, but I can make my own choices. Besides, I'm happy where I am._

_'And um... we're leaving for Seattle tomorrow. Edward's taking me on a date; I'm excited and nervous, I've never been on a date before. But we'll definitely stop by to visit you on Saturday, that was the original plan and I'm going to make sure that Edward sticks to it. So I'll see you then, alright? We can talk more later._'

I sent the email and flopped back into my chair and stared at the screen for several long moments. Then sighed. Emmett could be annoying and persistent when he wanted to; I just hoped that he wouldn't push Edward off the edge that Mike had gotten him so close too.

There was suddenly a cold hand on my shoulder, I turned my head back to see who it was. Renée smiled at me.

"Dinner's ready, Esme will be home in a little while."

I followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen. She'd set the table for two and had a playful grin on her face as she served out the food; I had to admit, it looked good. Just as I was sitting down, there was a thump outside the kitchen door. Esme was home.

She came in, and Renée looked at me; trying to communicate something with her eyes. I got what she meant immediately. I wasn't to say anything to Esme about why Renée wasn't eating with us; she'd make up some excuse, I'd just have to play along. Esme hung up her belt and coat, kicked off her boots before turning around.

"What's this?" She looked between me and Renée, who was perched on the counter near the sink.

"It's dinner," Renée replied. "I made it, for the two of you. I already ate, but the two of you can enjoy it."

"Aw, you're so thoughtful Renée, thanks!" Esme beamed and she flopped down into her chair before digging in. I followed suit, my stomach still a little nervous. "Did you help her with this Jasper?"

I shook my head, "I was in the living room; watching TV with Edward."

That seemed to surprise Esme, "Edward? Edward Swan?"

I nodded, "Yeah mom. Edward was here, he left about an hour ago."

She was giving me a hard look now, "And just why was Edward Swan here?"

"Um... you remember what I said mom? About really liking him? Well um... I don't know how to put this really... but... Edward and I are sort of dating." There, I said it. Yay for me.

For several long minutes, Esme just stared at me with her mouth wide open and her eyes like dinner plates. Eventually she seemed to find her voice, "You're... dating?!"

"Mom... please don't panic or make a big fuss out of everything."

"Why are you just telling me this now?"

"Um, because you were drunk last night so I didn't get the chance to tell you until now...?" It sounded a bit too much like a question to my ears, but I was hoping that Esme wouldn't notice. Especially when I was going to be skipping school the next day to drive to Seattle with Edward; I'd give her a little white lie instead. Wouldn't do to give her **_ALL_** the details of my relationship with Edward.

Esme blushed, and moved on, "Alright, so when is your first date?"

"Edward's driving me to Seattle tomorrow after school and we're going to visit Emmett on Saturday. That's fine right?" Esme was pretty open, and I hoped that she'd actually let me go and not ban Edward from the house for offering that; it wasn't even the full truth, but Esme didn't need to know.

"Well umm... I guess that's fine..." Esme's cheeks were a pale pink, and I noticed that Renée was grinning as she looked at her. It wasn't an innocent grin either. Oh god, I was suddenly so relieved that I was going to be out of town for the next little while; I didn't want to be clued in at all to my mom's sex life.

Internal twitch.

Dinner was relatively normal after that, with somewhat regular conversation. When dinner was finished, Renée gathered up the dishes and started to wash them; Esme joined in. I left at the point when they started their own little mini bubble war, and went up to my room where I found Edward waiting for me.

He was lounging in my desk chair, the light from the sunset reflecting off his skin. I stared, my jaw dropping. Edward looked up when I opened the door, "Jasper." He was suddenly on his feet and he caught me before I could hit the ground. I stared up at him, noticing how different he looked in the fading sun.

"Jasper..." I stared up at him, not exactly sure what I could say. The light was faint, yes, but... Edward looked almost like I'd pictured zombies.

Corpse-like. His skin was pale, it was always incredibly pale, but this was whiter then a sheet; and the circles around his eyes looked like black bruises and his eyes looked more sunken then usual. My knees had already given completely away beneath me and I would've been on the ground if it wasn't for Edward's frozen hands. Now, everything that he'd said really sank in.

"Oh." My head was swimming, I needed a little time to wrap my head around everything; I felt a little dizzy, but otherwise fine. Edward was worriedly searching my face, his eyes wide and a little panicky. I couldn't force myself to smile, my lips only twitched and the ground seemed to swirl below me. "You're... you're really... really not alive..."

"Yes." With the simple admission, my vision nearly went black and it was only through sheer force of will that I managed to keep myself conscious. I'd known Edward was a vampire, that he wasn't alive anymore, but I hadn't expected anything like this; like this corpse-like vision of Edward in the sunlight.

But I'd promised myself that I wouldn't be afraid or go back on what I said, and looking at this closer, I realized that it wasn't fear. There wasn't a touch of fear at all. It was just... the shock of it all. Edward had never said anything about the myths of the sun or what would happen if he was in it, so I'd never thought to think about it. The light was fading, but I reached up and lightly cupped Edward's cheeks in both my hands.

His cheeks were as cold as I remembered them always being, and smooth like a stone, but soft. It was like human skin, but at the same time it wasn't. His eyes were still the warm gold that I knew extremely well, but as the sun continued to set, the corpse-like appearance that he'd held in the light vanished; replaced by the beautiful countenance that I knew so well.

Once the shock had worn off, I could smile again. I gave Edward my best reassuring smile as I leaned my forehead against his and our eyes met. "Don't worry Edward, you just surprised me. I'm not afraid of you."

Silence filled the air, and I could feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest. I was nervous now, and scared; if Edward took my reaction the wrong way, there was the chance that he could just get up and leave me. If that was the case... I'd either break or follow him to the ends of the earth. He wouldn't get away from me now, I wouldn't let him.

"Say something!" I hissed at him. "Something, anything! Just tell me that you heard me damn it!"

There was a loud exhalation of breath, and I looked at Edward's face. It was tense, and there was a set to his jaw that I wasn't sure should sit well with me; my fingers clung frantically to his frozen cheeks, pulling him down more so that I could easily look into his eyes.

"I keep thinking... that some day you'll find someone... someone better. And I want that, I do, because I know how dangerous I am to you; something that you don't seem to grasp. But I won't deny that... it hurts, to think of that. It's more then that too. Having you know... know almost everything, I feel... well, I feel relieved." His brow furrowed.

A sigh slipped past my lips, my eyes drifted closed and I let my head rest against the base of his neck, "That's good... I was worried there..." Slowly, I could feel my raging heart begin to slow and Edward's arms came around me; pulling me tightly to him, like he always did. Gently, I nuzzled his neck. "You just surprised me. I wasn't expecting anything like that."

"My apologies." One of his cold hands moved from around me to softly rest against my chest, right over my heart. I didn't move until he let out a breath, and I dropped my hands to press against his; his hand was now flat against my chest, right over my heart. If he wanted to, if he couldn't control himself, he could very easily tear my heart out.

"I trust you. I trust that you'll tell me what I need to know, that you'll protect me. I wasn't lying when I said that I feel safe with you. You'll keep me safe, I know that."

His hand twitched under mine, and he gave a tiny smile that was laced with pain. When he spoke, his voice sounded strained, "This faith you have in me... I do not think I will ever understand."

I smiled broadly at him, "You will, don't worry."

Lips brushed over my temple, and I shivered at the contact. Edward's hand slithered out from under mine and slid up to my neck and jaw, tilting it so that he had a better angle to kiss me. Fiercely, his lips descended on mine and I nearly had the breath knocked out of me from the force; not to mention the surprise.

It took a while for me to get to bed that night.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

The next morning was a cloudy day, but the clouds didn't look like they'd last too long. I groaned and rolled over, then cold lips met mine and I was suddenly jerked into consciousness. Edward smiled at me when I pulled him in.

"Come now, Esme's left already. We should leave too if we want to arrive in Seattle by this evening," Edward's breath ghosted over my ear. I sat up and stretched, feeling cold hands massage my shoulders and back, releasing the tension and kinks there. Edward smiled as I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I quickly ran a brush through my hair and just as quickly brushed my teeth before dashing back into my bedroom and tossing my toothbrush and toothpaste on top of my clothes in my backpack.

Next I quickly changed into clean clothes and stuffed my pajamas into the bag too. Zipping it up, I took my bag and grabbed my iPod from the desk. Hey, you never know.

Edward was waiting for me in the front hall, a small duffle bag slung over his shoulder; I wondered what was in it, considering that he didn't need to sleep nor did he need to eat. I gave him a smile, which he returned when he saw me. He took my hand and pulled me to him, taking my bag from me in the process.

"I'll take that, shall we?" He gestured to the door.

"Let's go!"

We proceeded in the normal way to the driveway where Edward's Volvo was waiting for us. I climbed into the passenger side, as usual, and Edward tossed our bags into the backseat before he climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. The Emilie Autumn CD was still in there, and I reached out and popped it out; noticing that there was a player for an iPod there. Pulling mine out from where I'd shoved it into my pocket, I plugged it in and scanned through my playlists quickly before hitting the Bleach one.

Edward smiled and rolled his eyes, "Japanese music?"

"Oh stuff it, I can be a dork if I want to." I crossed my arms. We had a long drive ahead of us, and I was wondering how we were going to spend it. I noticed that there was a book tucked into the side pocket of the door. I pulled it out and raised an eyebrow. "You read romance?"

Looking over, Edward shrugged, "Actually, I think that Bella might have left that there from the last time I drove the others to school."

"Who's covering for us?" I asked, curious about how our absences were going to be explained. Edward smirked.

"Charlie and Renée called in, they said that you were going to visit a relative and that I was going camping with Riley; who is also conveniently not at school as well. It covers anything," he was obviously happy to be away from Mike and Jess. "Alice and Bella will pick up the work that we miss. You don't have to worry at all Jasper. Everything is covered in Forks; you can relax."

"Alright..." I replied, turning away from him and back to the book that I'd pulled out. Bored, and having nothing else to really do, I read the back cover. It was called _New Moon_, and was by someone named Stephanie Meyer. I wasn't familiar with the author or the title, but there was nothing else to do really, and the summary was a little intriguing; so I opened the book and started to read.

On the other hand, Edward seemed perfectly content with the silence as well as driving at the crazy speed that he was; I happened to noticed it when I glanced over at him and the speedometer at one point during the drive along the highway (he was going in excess of a hundred miles an hour). But I wasn't too worried, Edward's driving might have scared some; but I'd seen more reckless and crazy driver's then him. Besides, he seemed rather level-headed and calm; not to mention perfectly in control of the car.

We spent the drive in relative silence, with only the occasional conversation to break the silence. It didn't take as long as it had with Esme driving, and I wondered if it had to do with the difference in their driving styles. That was probably it.

Oh well, I wasn't complaining.

Edward and I arrived in the late afternoon, and he easily blended into the traffic of Seattle. He seemed to know precisely where he was going the entire time. I set the book aside; I'd finished it anyways, and he pulled up in front of a rather nice hotel in a rather nice section of town near the university. He pulled into the parking lot and parked. He grabbed both our bags and took my hand as he led me into the hotel.

The check-in was simple, Edward had apparently made a reservation ahead of time, but the clerk did give us a strange look. Edward gave her a harsh look which immediately shut her up.

"Have a pleasant stay," she greeted in that bland, mock-cheerful voice that I recognized all clerks using. Her smile was fake and there was a strange emotion, almost akin to disgust, in her eyes. Edward's eyes were hard as he guided me to the elevator. Once we were alone in the small space, did I look to him for answers.

"I had forgotten that not everyone supports our sort of relationship," his voice was low, angry almost.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my head into his chest, "So? It doesn't matter to me, so don't let it bother you. As long as you're with me then nothing else matters to me."

Edward wrapped his free arm around me, "I know... but their thoughts can be so... irritating. I can normally block it all out, but sometimes it's not that easy. I worry that someone may try to take advantage of you, like they did in Port Angeles." My heart nearly stopped and I froze up, my eyes wide.

"... Edward..." My voice trembled, I didn't want to go through that again, **_ever_**.

His voice was soft in my ear, "Don't worry Jasper, I will protect you."

The door pinged open and we stepped out. Edward's arm remained firmly around my waist as he led me to our room. Swiping the key card, he opened the door and let me go in first before he entered behind me; closing the door firmly behind us.

It was just like almost every other hotel room I'd ever been in, the curtains were some stiff fabric with weird print that matched the bedspread on the single queen bed that dominated the room. There was a TV situated on the bureau and two nightstands on either side of the bed and a table and chair in the corner. Other then that, there was a digital clock and a rather old phone on one of the nightstands; also two lamps were nailed to the nightstands.

"I know it's not the greatest, but it is better then some of those seedy motels and hotels that you find in every city," Edward replied, dumping our bags on the bureau next to the TV. "You go clean up and then we can figure out what we want to do."

I rolled my eyes as I walked towards the bathroom, saying over my shoulder, "Yeah right, I bet you've already made plans. You're just waiting to run it by me."

"Of course."

i washed my face and ran my fingers through my hair after using the bathroom, and then walked back out into the main room to join Edward who was sitting on a corner of the bed with the TV on, volume on low; I could barely hear it.

He looked up when I came in, "So you want to hear what I have planned?"

"Go right ahead, I'm fine with pretty much anything."

"Well," Edward began. "I was thinking of walking down to one of the restaurants and then going to see a movie, how does that sound to you?"

I smiled, "That sounds perfectly fine. What were you thinking of seeing? As long as it's not a horror flick, then I'm fine."

"You're not a horror fan?" A smile danced across Edward's lips and I rolled my eyes. "I'm just fooling with you, I was thinking something else. There's always the new Narnia movie, does that sound okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine." I sat down on the bed beside Edward, letting my head rest on his shoulder as I took one of his hands in both of mine and traced along the lines there. Edward sighed and let his head rest on the top of mine as he took my hands in both of his, giving them a soft squeeze and gently kissing my temple.

"Shall we?" I nodded.

I wasn't ashamed of my relationship with Edward at all, but apparently other people didn't think that it was 'acceptable'. The black look on Edward's face told me everything as we walked down the street, hands entangled. People were giving us dirty looks, which were mostly directed towards me; I guessed that people didn't actually think that I actually deserved Edward, just because of how perfect and handsome he was. Several girls gave me glaringly envious looks, but I ignored them; or at least, I tried too. Edward had picked me, not them, **_me_**. But still, I couldn't deny it that I was hurt.

Edward kissed my forehead and murmured, "Ignore them. If anyone steps out of line, I will make sure they don't do it again." The threat in his voice was real, I shivered but refused to let any of my fear show. It wasn't fear for myself, it was the fear that Edward just might get into trouble defending me. I didn't want that to happen, I loved him too much to let him sacrifice that much for me.

The restaurant that he'd picked out was nice, and the hostess, or should I say host, was incredibly friendly and nice as he showed us to a table. When he sat us down, he winked at me and mouthed, '_Nice catch_.' I couldn't help but smile as he walked away after saying that our server would be right with us. I noticed the quirk of Edward's lips and my smile grew.

"It's not so bad," I murmured. Edward gave me a tiny smile, his eyes softening a bit as he did so.

"Oh I suppose not. That host is jealous that you've gotten such a good-looking guy, but he respects our relationship. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked if I have any single family members." I rolled my eyes.

"You should keep what you learn to yourself, I don't need to know everything you hear." Our server showed up then, she was a cute girl; a little short and with a shock of strawberry blond hair. She smiled brightly at us as she handed us our menus.

"Hi, I'm Luna and I'll be your server for the evening. What can I get you to drink?" She pulled out a small notepad and pen.

"I'll have a Coke please," I replied. She scribbled it down and turned to Edward.

"And you?"

"Water is fine."

"Alright then." She walked away; her cheerfulness was contagious. Edward was smirking as she walked away.

"What's got you smirking?"

"Oh, she's thinking that we make the cutest couple ever. What was it she thought about you? Oh yes, that your the most adorable guy she's ever seen and that I'm like the Greek god who's come down to protect you," he rolled his eyes as he chuckled. Something hit me at the moment.

"I've been meaning to ask..." He turned to me, eyebrow raised. "Can you, you know, actually eat food?" Edward grinned as I flicked through the menu.

"Well, I will say that I can't eat in the way that a human can," Edward's voice was light, amused. "It more or less simply passes through my system with absolutely no effect or anything on me."

Luna returned at that moment, putting our beverages on the table, "Are you ready to order or do you need some more time?"

"I'll have the garden burger with fries," she scribbled it down and took my menu from me before looking to Edward. He smiled.

"Oh, I'll just have the same thing." She nodded and added another scribble to the notepad and took Edward's menu from him as well.

"Your menus will be ready shortly," she walked away, a bounce in her step.

"Ah yes, she's used to seeing couples like us here. That's why I picked this place, a lot of people frequent it who are perfectly fine with our sort of relationship." I smiled sheepishly and blushed.

Dinner passed pleasantly, with us just chatting and enjoying the time we had together. Edward talking about the thoughts of those who passed us by and were in the restaurant, while I either laughed or disapproved of the entire thing; for the most part though, I was relieved that he was opening up so well to me with his... unusual ability. It made my heart warm up and I couldn't help but smile throughout the entire evening.

After dinner, we walked back down the street, hands entwined and ignoring everyone else around us as we made our way to a theater. We were in luck; there was a showing of _The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian_ in just a few minutes. Edward bought the tickets and we went in. I wasn't hungry, we'd just eaten dinner, so we went straight into the theater and found seats.

The movie was pretty good, and I really enjoyed it; though I wasn't too sure how Edward felt about it. I asked him but he didn't say anything about how he felt about the entire movie. He held my hand throughout the entire movie on the armrest between our seats and I let my head rest on his shoulder. The feeling of complete content washed through me in waves, and I felt extremely safe with Edward. I didn't care that he could be a killer, that he could kill me right then; what mattered was that I loved him and that he loved me and wouldn't ever hurt me. My face was in a permanent smile the entire time.

Our date was a perfect first date. I was incredibly happy.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Ugh, you so owe me Jen! I wrote this because you insisted that I finish it up before I went to bed, and I did! It's now nearing one in the morning, so I hope that you'll be nice and finish writing that lovely Panic At the Disco fanfiction that you were telling me about. I am _**SO**_ looking forward to reading it!

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this eleventh chapter of _Poison_! I am really enjoying writing this and can't wait for more feedback! So, _Breaking Dawn_ comes out at the end of this week, and I'm pumped for that too. I might not have achieved my goal of finishing this fanfiction before it came out, but I'm proud of what I've completed thus far. Maybe I'll have another chapter up before it comes out? Maybe, who knows.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED.

Oh yes, and Emmett shall be in the next chapter, aren't you all happy?

Review?

Twilight.


	13. Chapter 12: Bridge Over Troubled Water

**A/N:** Alright, so I've read _Breaking Dawn_. The enthusiasm is gone now, and it isn't ever coming back beside damn, that was just a really crappy piece of fiction. What was Meyer thinking when she wrote that? That a crappy fanfiction like that would be good? Dear god, I hated it. Really, if you want to read something like that, just head on over to the canon sections of this site, I'm sure you'll find something that is practically a carbon copy of _Breaking Dawn_ in all of its horribleness. It wasn't worth what I paid for it.  
Over then that, let's move onto our uncanon and alternate universe love. Look people, I'm going to pretend BD never happened, it was a trilogy.  
**Words:** 4 443 words  
**Disclaimer:** I don't, in any way, own the _Twilight_ series and its characters, they're the property of Stephanie Meyer; who I am most definitely not. Heh, I don't wanna have to deal with what she's going to have to deal with; a whole lot of angry, pissed off fans bent on murder.

**Chapter 12: Bridge Over Troubled Water**

For someone who doesn't sleep, Edward likes to spend more time in bed then I do. His excuse, though, is a little cheesy.

"I don't get to hold you like this very often, can't you wait a little while longer to get up?" Edward asked with a lazy smirk. I rolled my eyes at him and muttered that we couldn't spend all day in bed, then blushed at just how wrong that sounded. Edward chuckled and nuzzled the back of my neck, which didn't help at all.

We wound up staying in bed until around ten, at which point my stomach decided to make my hunger apparent. Edward smiled and pulled away from me with a kiss, before opening the door and picking up the tray of room service that had been put there. Huh, when had he had time to order room service? Oh well, he'd probably done it at some point when I'd been asleep. I'd give it to him, he's extremely thoughtful.

I'd never actually visited Emmett in Seattle before, so I had absolutely no idea where the apartment that he was renting was. He'd moved in with a roommate due to some problems with the dorms, and he hadn't changed his mind when a dorm room became available; I guessed it had something to do with the privacy or something. Don't ask me, I actually have no idea.

While I didn't know where we were going, Edward surprisingly did. He led me along the streets, my hand firmly in his icy one. Without pause he led me along the campus, striding purposefully towards an apartment block that was practically sitting right beside it. I didn't fail to notice all the women, and even a few guys, eying Edward with an appreciative eye; but then staring at me with complete shock, even envy. There was even pity in there somewhere; beautiful people like Edward don't normally date normal looking people like me. I guess it was a sight to see.

"Um, how do you know where we're going Edward?" I asked as Edward led me into the building, then into the stairwell. He tapped his head with a grin.

"You're cousin can leave quite the impression on the women." My eyes widened and I stared at Edward in shock; my cousin Emmett, a playboy?! Edward read my expression and quickly explained. "Please, don't take that the wrong way Jasper. I meant that he's just, to them, someone who's easily remembered and rather attractive." I flushed.

"... Emmett's always been better looking..." There was a frown on Edward's face as he took in my rather downcast expression. With a butterfly touch, he sent shivers down my spine and my eyes locked with his.

"You, Jasper, are beautiful. Don't ever doubt that." He pulled me tightly to him and kissed me fiercely right there in the stairwell; not only was I surprised by this show of public affection, but it sent a warm feeling surging through my chest and my heart thudded loudly and quickly. Edward smiled against my lips. "So lovely, so tempting..."

His breath was cold on my lips, and I felt a little dizzy, "Mm... if you say so." I wasn't thinking clearly, so it was easier to just let him get his way; besides, Edward was rather stubborn when it came to this sort of thing, so I figured that I'd just let him win.

Edward's lips brushed mine once more before he pulled away and continued to lead me up the stairs until we reached the third floor. Then we walked about halfway down the hall where stopped at room numbered '324'. With a grin Edward leaned against the wall beside the door, still holding my hand and reached over to knock on the door.

I heard what sounded like a very loud thud, Edward chuckled at the noise, which was followed by a voice that I recognized yelling, "Hang on a sec!"

When the door finally was opened, Emmett just sort of stared at me for several moments then, "Jaz! You came!" And I was suddenly pulled into a tight hug that lifted me off my feet and crushed me to Emmett; I awkwardly patted his back as my other hand was still being held firmly by Edward.

Emmett let me go with his typical grin, that is, until he caught sight of Edward leaning against the wall outside his apartment looking very much like a Greek god. With the lazy almost smirk on his face, Edward greeted my cousin, "Hello, you must be Emmett."

My cheeks were a little pink, and Emmett looked like he'd seen a ghost. His eyes were mouth and his jaw had dropped when he'd fully taken in Edward. I would have laughed if my cousin wasn't very obviously checking out my boyfriend.

I cleared my throat, "Emmett... quit drooling over Edward."

That snapped him out of it. Emmett straightened up almost immediately, "So this is the Edward that you've been telling me about?"

Blushing, I nodded, "Yeah, this is Edward Swan. Edward, this is my cousin Emmett."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Edward held out his free hand, you know, the one that he **_wasn't_** using to hold mine. "Jasper has told me quite a bit about you."

"Oh really now?" Emmett was obviously thinking something over that Edward was finding amusing. His little smirk grew just a little. "One question Ed..." I slammed my head into my hand. What is it with Emmett and nicknames?! "Why are you living in Forks? You don't look like the kind who'd live in that old dump of a town."

At this point, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

"Forks isn't that bad actually. In fact, I prefer it to where we've lived before; it's my sisters who have the real problems with living there," Edward was still smirking. "Besides, Charlie was offered a position there, and he prefers the small town life to that of the big city. And Jasper's added another reason to why I like living there." His hand gently squeezed mine.

I wasn't sure what Edward was playing at, but I knew that while Esme wouldn't give me the whole 'boyfriend' talk, that Emmett would do that. See, Emmett's like a mother and father all rolled into one; he thinks of himself as my guardian and protector, I guess you could say.

"Uh huh? You must have a very old-fashioned family," Emmett muttered. "Anyways! Come on in you two!" He swung the door wide open and gestured us in; I followed behind Edward, not straying very far from his side.

I had a reason to be afraid. Emmett's apartment was a disaster and accident zone; empty pizza boxes and textbooks all over the floor; the laundry hadn't been done in a while and had piled up in one corner, I wrinkled my nose at the stench that came from that. I wasn't about to ask what was in there, I didn't want to know.

Luckily, the tiny living room was clean. There was some sports broadcast going on the TV, the volume of which was turned down low, and the couch looked old and worn. So did the coffee table. Looking around, everything in the apartment looked to be secondhand pretty much, but I didn't say anything about it.

Emmett shoved several blankets and a pillow off the couch, and I squeezed onto it beside Edward while Emmett plopped himself down on the coffee table so that he was sitting across from us. He was looking at Edward hard, as if he could lift his intentions from his mind with the intensity of his stare. I knew that it wouldn't work, but Edward found it amusing so I didn't say anything about it.

Plus, Emmett really can't master the serious look.

I'm not kidding.

After several very long minutes, Emmett quit his staring and smiled, "You caught a good one Jazz!" He clapped me on the shoulder and I gave a tiny smile, the butterflies slowly leaving my stomach. "Does aunt Esme know yet?"

"I told her last night, she didn't throw the fuss I thought that she would."

Emmett scratched his head, "Oh yeah, isn't she dating some artist? Can't remember his name now..."

"Um, Emmett? It's a her, and her name is Renée Swan, she's Edward's aunt, I guess..."

"Really? Isn't that sort of, well, awkward?" This question was posed to Edward, who grinned.

"No, not at all. Renée lives in Port Angeles, not with my family in Forks. I've never actually had a mother-figure, Charlie adopted me when I was young." How easily the lies came from him, I was a little jealous. I fail at lying, well, **_most_** of the time I do.

"You're adopted? What happened to your parents then?"

"My parents died of illness," Edward's face changed just a little, and I thought I caught a glimpse of envy and sadness, but then the mask was back up and I couldn't get anything else out of him. "Charlie adopted me shortly after, I think of him as my father now, and my adopted siblings as my real ones."

"Huh..." Emmett crossed his arms. "Sorry about bringing that up, I was just a little curious."

"It's not a problem, it was a long time ago and I wasn't very old at the time."

"So anyways! You're liking Forks then Jazz? I thought you'd hate small town life, you never really liked it down there when we went for vacations."

"It's not... so bad... I mean, I've made a few friends, that's more then I can say for my school back in Vancouver..." I muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. All those idiots didn't know what they were missing!" Emmett smiled reassuringly at me and mussed up my hair; I reached up to flatten it back out, my cheeks heating up a little. "And look what you landed!" He gestured to Edward. "You should go back up there with Edward and show him off a little, bet that would make all those ditzes see red."

My face was probably the color of a tomato by this point, "Emmett...!"

"What?! I'm just saying!"

"I do not mind being flaunted," Edward interjected. I glared at him.

"... you're not helping..." I muttered darkly.

Edward smirked, and whispered, "Yes, but I get to show you off too. You're beautiful, Jasper."

If my face wasn't red enough, it just got redder. Emmett found this amusing, "Jeez Jazz, you don't have to get so embarrassed, I was just teasing ya!"

"I'd rather not get stepped and or run over by the jealous girls who will have suddenly turned into ravenous monsters the moment they see Edward," I ground out. "I don't want to die yet, I'm quite happy with my life right now." Edward gave my hand a small squeeze, I'd almost forgotten he was holding it.

"The girls would be that crazy? If so, then how the hell are you still alive and in one piece?" I could tell that was sarcastic.

"Does the fact that one girl at Forks High tried to turn me into a pancake with her truck not phase you?!" I was shaking. "She nearly killed me! And it looked like an accident!"

Edward's face darkened, and Emmett looked shocked for all of five seconds before he got angry, "She tried to what?! Who is this girl?! I'm gonna have to have a serious talk with her! If she wasn't a girl I'd rip her arms off!"

"... I would gladly aid you in any such venture..." I heard Edward mutter darkly, that look of murderous rage on his face again. Obviously his anger and murderous intent towards Lauren hadn't faded at all, but I hadn't expected anything less, Edward seemed like the type who would hold a grudge for a very long time.

"You said that was an accident!"

"The way she acted afterwards didn't seem like it."

"Lauren, is incredibly jealous of Jasper for not only usurping her place as the center of attention, but he's also the first person that I have ever taken any interest in," Edward clarified, his voice cold and sharp, like a knife's blade.

"So you've never dated anyone? Please tell me you at least have **_SOME_** idea of what goes on in a relationship!"

"That was not what I meant. But Jasper is the first that I have felt this deeply about, he's the first person who I've met who I've felt this connection with. And I do have a fairly good idea of what goes in a relationship." Ha! That's a huge understatement. If you think it, Edward knows.

There's an advantage to having a mind reader for a boyfriend.

"You're not pulling my leg here, right?" Emmett asked incredulously. Now we were getting into the whole 'boyfriend talk', Emmett was now out to make perfectly sure that Edward understood that he would come after him with a cast iron frying pan and his bare fists if he hurt me in anyway. Maybe it was a good thing that Edward was rather indestructible. Then again, it also was a good thing that Emmett didn't actually know what Edward was.

Just imagine the shock of finding out that your cousin who you've protected since he was in diapers is now dating a vampire. On one hand, Emmett wouldn't have to worry anymore about my getting hit by trucks, buses, or cars; Edward would pretty much keep me safe from anything that could cause me harm, but that left the whole blood lust thing. I was glad that Emmett wouldn't know that Edward actually did lust after my blood. I wondered what would be worse, Edward just lusting after my body, or him lusting after my blood. Or maybe both?

Maybe I was just over-thinking. Yes, yes I was.

"Of course not. I'm absolutely serious, I do care a lot about Jasper."

"Do you love him?" By this point Edward had me tucked under his arm protectively, my head resting on his shoulder and my free arm, that wasn't now pinned against his side, thrown around his hips. "Cause you know, I won't let you see my cousin if you don't and are just playing him."

"If I didn't, then I wouldn't be here with him. I do love Jasper, and I would not 'play' him. I'm not cruel," his arm was tightly wrapped around me; I smiled.

"You can trust me on this Emmett," I muttered. "I know Edward loves me, and that's what matters, isn't it?"

Emmett didn't have a response to that, but he did smile warmly at the two of us.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

An hour later saw us with Emmett's blessing, not that we really needed it, and leaving because we had a long car ride ahead of us back to the tiny town of Forks. Emmett promised to come and visit when university was out for the summer, he was planning to come down for the summer anyways, the fact that I'd come down was just a bonus for him.

Besides, he now had a bone to pick with one Lauren Mallory.

I couldn't help but wonder whether or not it was some fault in my personality that caused such fierce protectiveness in the people who cared about me, but such hatred in others. This was one thing that I despised about having switched schools, the fact that I would be the center of attention and that that would make someone jealous. I just never thought it would be to the point where my **_life_** was possibly in danger.

We walked back to the hotel after our visit with Emmett, I still hadn't gotten over the amusement and mortification at my cousin asking whether or not Edward had a single relative. The most mortifying part was when Edward had replied that Charlie, his 'adoptive father', was single and looking and Emmett just grinned and replied with, "Older guy, huh? Sounds hot."

Remind me that I never want to know anything about my cousin's sex life. Or his romantic life for that matter. Honestly, that was a bit scarring.

But anyways, we had a long car drive ahead of us, and I was sort of looking forward to it but at the same time I wasn't. It had nothing to do with spending a long stretch of time alone with Edward, that I had no problem with and never would, it was just that I dislike long car rides with a passion. It's just how I am, I've always hated them, ever since I was little.

Once we were back on the road, questions started crowding into my mind. I was curious about Edward, I didn't know too much about him, well, about him before he'd become a vampire. There were a few things that I wanted to know, and I wanted to know them **_badly_**.

"Um, Edward...?"

"Yes Jasper?" His voice was calm, level, and soft. It was a little like that dangerous tone he'd used whenever he was beyond angry, but it was much softer this time, less dangerous; there was a loving edge to it that made it seem so much warmer. My cheeks warmed up unexpectedly.

"I uh... have a few questions I want to ask... about you..."

There was a slight shift in his eyes, but that was all, "Alright, ask away."

I took a deep breath and tried my best to organize my chaotic thoughts enough to order the questions that I wanted answered, "How old are you?"

"I believe that I told you this before, but I'll answer again, I'm nineteen."

"When and where were you born?"

There was a distance to his voice that I hadn't thought I would hear from him, it was almost as if he was lost in a memory, "I was born June 20, 1899, to middle class parents, Elizabeth and Vincent Masen. Both of them... died during the Spanish influenza outbreak in 1918, in January.

"For a while, I was able to make it on my own; working in a corner store and even volunteering in the hospital... somehow, I think I was trying to make a difference, one that my parents would have expected of me. I should have been thinking of my future, of marrying, not lingering on the past like I did...

"I contracted the disease that summer, in late August I think; my human memories have faded over the years... I'd known Charlie before then, since I'd been volunteering in the hospital for a few months before that. He recognized me... since I looked so much like my mother, who he had personally nursed.

"It wasn't an easy choice for him, but he'd been alone for so long that he was starting to become desperate for someone to keep him company. He spent months agonizing over it, but my determination to hold on won him over; even though my body was giving out on me, dying right under me, my mind and heart refused to give in to that..."

I stared at him and covered my mouth with my hands; Edward didn't notice, apparently, as he continued, "I can't remember his exact words to me... but I do know that I wasn't ready to die yet... it was only later that I found out about the full situation. My... my mother begged him that if I was to ever catch the disease, that he would do everything in his power to save me. Even if it meant eternal damnation.

"Officially, my date of death is October, 1918. I don't know the precise date. Everything else is just a blur; being reborn into this unlife... is a very painful experience, one that you never forget. It's the most vivid recollection that I have of ever having been human."

The car sped up a bit, "I stayed with Charlie, or Charles as he was known back then, for about a year before I felt the need to rebel... it was a difficult choice to make; he just was so sincere and strong in his belief. I don't feel like I deserve the pride that he has in me, that I deserve the honor of his calling me his son..."

I swallowed, I knew what he meant when he spoke of 'rebelling', "You went after humans." There wasn't any fear in me or my voice, for some reason, the fear wasn't there; I couldn't bring myself to be scared of him because of his nature; because that was part of him that he couldn't change, couldn't help, and it made me love him all the more.

"I thought that... I wouldn't be affected by the guilt that comes with having a conscience, but I was wrong. So very, **_very_** wrong..." His eyes were still distant when he looked at me. "My belief was that I could go only after the impure, those who had done wrong, murderers or rapists, but that didn't allay the guilt I felt after only a few short years of living so. The mere fact that I had taken human life was not lost on me.

"Yet... when I returned, Charlie and his new 'sister' took me in with open and welcoming arms... it was far more then what I deserved. I had disappointed him, I am a murderer."

"Edward..."

"You may have it in yourself to forgive me, but you don't know how it was for me... I knew precisely what my prey was feeling as I hunted them, as I killed them..." I swallowed hard.

"... that's true, but Edward..." I placed my hand over his. "Stop feeling so guilty and down about it, okay? Or can you at least try not too when I'm around?" I wasn't too sure whether or not the fact that my empathy was acting up again or not was relevant, but I thought and knew that he deserved to know at the least.

Edward would be the one who could help with it, no one else had been able too.

"What do you mean?"

"Well it's just... it's not exactly that I **_know_** how you feel about all of this, it's more of that I **_feel_** it," I frowned as I spoke, it was hard to explain. "You know how there are those people who can, well, sense and experience the emotions and feelings of other people?"

"You are talking about empathy, am I correct?"

"Yes, that."

"Are you saying that you're an 'empath'?" There was no ridicule or disgust in his voice, nor a sense of awe, it was simply curious.

"To a degree, yes. I only get really vague impressions, but if the emotion is strong enough, then I can feel it full force," I explained carefully and frowned. "It's nothing serious or anything to be proud of, but it's helped me out through school and problems. Knowing what people feel makes it easier for you to defuse situations... you know what to say."

"... I see. That would make sense, that's a very unique gift you have there."

"Thanks Edward, for listening and understanding." Edward smiled and gently reached out and ran his thumb along my cheekbone.

"I hear voices in my head, and you worry that I won't understand? Sometimes you have such strange ideas."

Involuntarily, I leaned into the touch, "Still, thank you. Everyone else who has found out about it laughs at me or calls me a freak, especially when I'm on the dot about it."

"I can imagine. People often don't understand what is different, but you at least don't have to worry about answering a person's thoughts in place of what they are actually saying. It's usually two very different things and often causes problems."

"Yeah, I guess that would be a problem!"

Gently, he laced our fingers together and brought my hand to his lips, "You, though, are one of the rare exceptions. I cannot see your thoughts, you are only the second person who I have come across who is able to block me out."

"The other one is Bella, right?"

"Yes, Bella has always been able to hide her thoughts from me, it's a sort of... innate ability of hers. Despite that she's always been gifted, an ability that has been heightened with her rebirth as a vampire, with the ability to see through deception. It's a rather unique gift, our family is full of such people."

"Really? So Bella can see through deception, and you can read minds... what can the others do?"

"Charlie brought his ability to heal the pain of others, it is the reason why he chose to be a doctor; Rosalie brought her beauty and her tenacity; Riley brought his strength of mind and ability to blend in with nature; Renée her artistic capabilities..."

"You're forgetting Alice."

"Alice has the... most unusual gift."

"Unusual meaning...?" Now I was curious.

"She has the ability to see the future. Not that it's set in stone, but she sees snippets of things that might happen, images or words or voices or even on occasion, a full vision. Alice sees our kind the most clearly, humans are a little harder to see, but she can still see their future if she wants."

That was something I hadn't expected, I frowned, "So, did she see me coming?"

"... something like that."

Again, there was that mysteriously hard edge to his voice.

"One more question." Edward nodded and let our hands rest on the gear shift. "Why... why does your skin, your body, feel so cold? Why do you look like a corpse in the sun?"

"That's more then one," Edward pointed out. I frowned. "Jasper, don't ever forget the essential nature of what a vampire is. We are the undead. It's only natural that we feel so cold, our hearts no longer beat, our bodies are no longer alive; we cannot generate our own warmth because it is unnecessary and our blood no longer flows the way that yours does.

"As for my... corpse-like appearance in the sun... this is because I have tasted human blood, drank it, lived on it. There was a time when I could not venture into the sun because of that, I would burn. Because I have drank human blood, my appearance is that of what we truly are, an undead corpse. As for those who have not, they only appear to be very beautiful humans, but the sun will irritate their eyes."

I squeezed his hand and took it in both of mine, holding it tightly, "Do you miss it? The warmth?"

"I can barely remember it," Edward looked down at his hand in both of mine and smiled. "That feels amazing, you don't realize how good that feels. Are you sure you don't mind the cold?"

"Nope, not at all."

"So strange..." There wasn't disgust in Edward's voice, just amusement, so I didn't say anything about being called 'strange'. In fact, it was true in a way, most people would shy away from Edward; not because of how he looked, but because of what he was. Yet here I was, alone with him in the middle of nowhere, easy prey, and there wasn't any part of me that was afraid.

Yes, I know, I'm strange.

For the most part, the rest of the ride back to Forks was spent in silence. I wasn't sure why, but I was really tired, so I think that I drifted off at some point when we drove through Port Angeles, but I couldn't be sure. Everything was a big blur, and the next thing that I could dimly remember was Edward pulling up into the driveway of Esme's house and then carrying me inside.

Edward was just laying me down in bed when I latched onto his shirt and mumbled out, "Stay." There was a light chuckle that ghosted across my lips before cold lips pressed against mine.

"I will, but Esme is here. I will come back later."

Then he was gone and I didn't remember anything else.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Dear god, did it really take me that long to finish this? Ah, I'm so sorry! Listen, I'll make it up to all of you, I promise that I'll have the thirteenth chapter up within the next two days, alright?! I swear that I will make it so! This time I'll keep my promise to all of you readers!

Anyways, school starts up on the second, and I'm not really looking forward to that, but I sort of am because I got the greatest Social Studies teacher ever! Yes, I bet you can all tell how happy I am about that. Maybe this time around I'll actually get to see him tap dance on the desk...

Other then that, I hope you liked this chapter, and I _**think**_ that I may know how long this story is going to turn out. The plan is for twenty-six chapters, so that means I'm nearly halfway done. The next chapter will contain the rest of our lovely Swan family, so stick around for that! As well, if you have feedback about the gifts, then please, do tell me! I'm always looking for feedback and ideas!

Review?

Twilight.

_**EDIT 2009/02/07:**_ Fixed continuity errors with Edward's past. Thanks to Concubine99 who pointed that inconsistency out.


	14. Chapter 13: Be Our Guest

**A/N:** After that chapter was done, I took about a ten minute break before I started on the thirteenth chapter. Unfortunately, I lost what I had typed up before originally, so I had to start this all over again. It's very sad isn't it? Doubt you all care since you all get your chapter anyways.  
**Words:** 5059 words  
**Disclaimer:** Do I look like I'm rich? Do I look like I would turn out the crap that was published recently? Uh, that would be a lie. I would be more creative then that; I wouldn't resort to ripping off fanfiction to write a novel. I have more pride then that.

**Chapter 13: Be Our Guest**

The next morning, the butterflies had come back. They were fluttering around in my stomach and causing havoc with the rhythm of my heart and my own emotions, the fact that Edward could hear my thudding and erratic heart beat didn't help either.

Edward's arms were wrapped comfortably around me, the familiar cold feeling helping to reassure me somewhat, though my heart still hammered. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous about Edward's family not accepting me, it had nothing to do with the whole 'same-sex' nature of our relationship (if they had a problem with that, then Alice and Bella wouldn't be in a relationship), I guessed it was just me feeling insecure.

Oh hell, I had no idea.

"Did you sleep well?" Edward's fingers casually threaded through my hair, untangling the strands. I sighed contentedly and melted against him; alright, I didn't want to get out of bed.

"I guess... I thought you said that you'd be there while I slept though," my fingers lightly pressed against the fabric of his shirt. It was wrinkled and was riding up, exposing his pale muscled stomach; my heart skipped a beat. Almost timidly, I let my fingers graze across the bare flesh.

He gasped at the contact, his head resting on my shoulder. I hesitated for a moment before I pressed down a little firmer, this time tracing the outlines of the muscles with much more confidence then before. I continued my mapping out the muscles of his torso, committing each detail to memory; there were a few scars that marred his pale skin, I noted that they were in the shape of bite marks.

As my fingers lightly traced one that was just below his left pectoral, his hands came up, grasping my wrists and gently pulling them away. There was a noticeably dark gleam in his golden eyes as he looked at me, and I felt my heart flutter and I shivered from the intensity of his stare.

"Edward...?"

"As wonderful as your touches are, I'm afraid that if I hadn't stopped you that I would not have been able to control myself."

I blinked at that, confused, before realizing what he meant, "... oh." My face warmed up right away, Edward chuckled at that.

"Don't be so shy." He sat up, pulling his shirt down as he did so before leaning down to kiss me; I had already leaned up, so we met halfway. Edward smiled into the kiss, he **_obviously_** liked my starting to take the initiative. I have to admit, it made me happy too that he accepted my advances.

I sighed wistfully when he pulled away, breathing heavier then I had been before; Edward always leaves me breathless.

"If I'm going to introduce you to my family, then you had better start getting ready. Renée and Esme left earlier for a little day trip down to Port Angeles, I believe that they will be back late this evening."

Shooting up, I nearly bounced my head off of Edward's face, my blush immediately fading as the butterflies came back tenfold. Wordlessly, I threw my arms around his neck, pulling me flush to his body; I needed the reassurance that only he could offer. There was confusion in Edward as he wrapped his arms around me in response, but he didn't say anything about it until I finally had my pulse back under control and the nerves had faded. All it took was a little confidence, **_I_** could do this.

After I'd finished reassuring myself, Edward slipped off after a kiss and a promise of coming back later. I climbed out of bed and made my way to the bathroom for a shower and to clean up for the day. When I looked in the mirror, I noticed that I looked a lot happier now then I could ever myself having looked.

Finishing up in the bathroom quicker then usual, I rushed back into my bedroom and started digging through all of my clothes looking for something, anything, that might be even somewhat appropriate for meeting my boyfriend's family. I wanted to make a good impression, a really good one. After digging through my closet for a few minutes, I finally found something that I thought would do. Pulling the only pair of black dress pants that I'd brought with me out of the back of my closet where I thought I'd never have to pull them out from. Those were followed by the only slightly dressy clothes that I'd brought with me.

A simple three-quarter sleeve length, white collared shirt and an argyle patterned sweater vest that was light blue, dark teal, and black. I pretty much didn't have any dress shoes, so once I'd gotten dressed I pulled on a pair of socks before running down stairs to get some breakfast.

I dug up some cereal, as always, and spotted the note that Esme had left me. I raised an eyebrow at her messy cursive that was scrawled at an awkward angle over the paper; honestly, Esme was a bit like a kid in a lot of ways. But she was my mother, so I loved her despite that. She had Renée now, so she didn't me to constantly look after her now like she had the few times that I'd come down for vacations. Now she would have someone who would be there for her, someone who was pretty much indestructible.

Just as I was drying the dishes, I heard a loud thud from the hall and froze. Edward had been in my house enough and could move through it with such almost unnatural grace that he wouldn't knock into something or knock something over. Slowly, I placed the dishes to the side of sink and cautiously turned around.

There was no one there, and when I walked out and looked down the hallway there was no one else there either. Confused now, I walked down the hallway towards the family room and the front entrance. Again, it was completely deserted, there was no one there. Now I was completely confused, the table near the front door had been knocked to the side, that was what had caused the thud that I'd heard, but there was no one around that I could see who had knocked into it.

Fixing the table, I was just about to check upstairs when there was a soft knock at the door. Straightening up, I made sure that my clothes were pulled down flat and weren't wrinkled before going over to open the door. Edward was standing there, a slight frown on his face, when he saw me, though, he smiled warmly.

"Hello Jasper."

"You don't have to knock you know, the door was unlocked," I reprimanded, opening the door wide.

"No one was over while I was gone, was there?"

I frowned, "No, why?"

Edward looked to be lost in thought for a moment, "... I thought I heard someone's thoughts..."

"I thought you-"

"It wasn't you, it didn't match your 'voice', and I can't hear your thoughts anyways," Edward's eyes narrowed, and he sniffed the air. "I don't know... your scent is overpowering anything else..." Suddenly, Edward's arm swept around my waist and he whispered into my ear, "Get your shoes, we're leaving."

"Uh... okay." The emotions in Edward's voice sent my heart thudding and my mind racing to figure out what had gotten him into this mood. The moment I'd finished putting my shoes on, I was pulled tightly to Edward's side and escorted out of the house. He only stopped to lock the door, with my keys I might add, before he walked me right to the passenger door of his Volvo. Edward opened it and I climbed in, the door shutting firmly behind me. The moment Edward had climbed in the other side, he had his cell in his hand and was already listening.

"Rose, get Riley... I need you to go to Jasper's... no, he's with me right now... Yes, I know your feelings on this matter, but I don't want Renée to possibly come home to a surprise... I only got a glimpse, but I'm almost positive that someone else was there... I want you and Riley to make sure that there's no one there, and if there was try and track them... No, just far enough to where you know they're unlikely to come back..."

I was surprised that Edward was so sure that someone had been inside my house and that they might have hurt me, but I thought that he was just maybe overreacting, just a little. And I knew that Rosalie had maybe some grudge against me, or maybe she just didn't like me; but Edward was asking her to help me and my mother out? I was confused.

The phone snapped shut with a sort of finality and I snapped out of my thoughts. Edward's eyes were hard and on me now, "I'm sorry Jasper, I'm being a bit... overprotective, aren't I?"

"Not really... I thought that there might have been someone in the house, the table in the front hall, someone had knocked into it," I replied evenly. I shuffled as he pulled out onto the street and started driving out of town.

"Please tell me that you didn't go investigate." I looked out the window almost immediately, that gave enough of answer. "You did. Please Jasper, please, don't do something idiotic that could possibly bring you harm. Instead of going to investigate, you should have gotten out of there, as fast as you could."

I still didn't look at him as the town started to blend into forest, the houses now farther apart then they had been before, "It was on the way out, and I didn't see anyone there, so I just thought that it was nothing..."

A hand came out and ruffled through my hair, I looked back to Edward and there was a thoughtful look in his eyes behind the love that was in them. He continued driving until there weren't anymore houses at all, just forest; we were still on the highway, and I was wondering just where he lived. Maybe he lived in a cave?

There was a turn off of the highway just a little farther up the highway, it led onto a dirt road that twisted through the thick forest. The turn-off had been so obscure that I doubt I would've noticed it without someone having pointed it out to me; it was a good thing Edward was driving.

"You guys live awfully far from Forks," I remarked, looking out the window at the passing forest.

Edward smiled, "This far out there's no one around who could possibly see us in the sun. You've seen me, how I look, just imagine what would happen if other humans saw us."

"That does make sense."

"Plus, we prefer it out here, it's calm and peaceful. Easier to hunt from out here too."

The forest started to thin out, before opening out onto a large clearing. I blink, today wasn't a sunny day and the sky was overcast, but something about this clearing seemed brighter then the forest. In the center of this clearing was a house, well 'house' was putting it simply, this was big more like a mansion, and it looked to be probably around a hundred years old; it could have been, or it could have been built to look that way. There was a veranda that wrapped around the front of the house and one of the sides; the house itself was painted a warm cream color with dark wood accents around the doors and windows. All in all, it was a very beautiful home.

"What do you think? Beautiful isn't it?"

I nodded, noticing several exquisitely rendered sculptures of what I guessed to be Greek gods and goddesses placed at strategic points throughout the clearing. "It's amazing. And the sculptures... it's beautiful."

"Yes, it's Renée's work, her best. Of course, for her, traveling the world to see art and sculpture is what she has done, but I think she would have enjoyed it more if she had someone to enjoy it with her. These are all replicas that she had made of sculptures she has seen during those travels," Edward told me as he pulled up the driveway and parked near the front of the house. His car was the only one in sight.

"I know that you sent Rosalie and Riley to my house... but why?"

We climbed out of the car and Edward automatically took my hand in his; that was becoming a habit of his. Not that I minded it. "Forgive me for that, I'm a little... overprotective, I suppose. But what I did hear is not something that I would have expected to have heard from a human. This is just a precaution, but if Renée and Esme come back and there's another of our kind there... it wouldn't be good to surprise them like that."

"It has to do with me too."

"Yes, there's that as well. Let's just say that I want to protect you, even if I have to go to what would seem to be extreme lengths to do so," he led me up the small set of stairs onto the veranda and to the large, heavy-looking, double wooden doors. He pushed open one of them easily and escorted me inside, closing the door behind us.

Inside wasn't precisely what I had expected. For one thing, it was incredibly open; most of the walls had been knocked down, creating one huge open space and the far wall was completely made of glass. To our right on a raised platform was a huge grand piano and a case for what I guessed was a cello.

"Hello Edward," I recognized Doctor Swan as he came out of a room that was tucked off to the side of the huge room we were in. His golden eyes lit up when he saw the two of us, and he smiled warmly at me. "Welcome to our home Jasper."

I couldn't help but blush, "Th-thank you... this is a really beautiful home Doctor Swan."

"Please, you don't have to call me that, Charlie is just fine." I smiled back at him, feeling much more at ease now, and nodded.

"Sure, alright."

There was a blur on the stairs, someone called out, "Edward!", and then I was nearly knocked off my feet when I was pretty much tackle-hugged by Alice who had seemingly flown down the stairs. Her arms weren't nearly as thick or muscular as Edward's, but there was definitely a strength to her that her seemingly fragile appearance seemed to disguise.

"Hi Jasper!" She gushed out as she pulled away, a huge grin on her face. My face was bright red at this time and I stared at her, eyes wide.

"Alice..." Edward's voice behind me was a little exasperated.

"Um... hi Alice..."

I nearly missed Bella's entrance if she hadn't spoken as she came to the bottom of the stairs, "Alice, please behave!" And then she too was suddenly in front of me at Alice's side and I was looking at two of the most beautiful women that I had ever seen.

Bella turned to me then with a warm smile on her face, "Hello Jasper, I'm sorry about Alice's behavior, that's just how she is."

"Oh um, it's fine." And it was, I was just a little embarrassed by the warm welcome that she'd shown me. I wondered if Esme ever came here if she'd receive the same warm welcome that I had; I guessed that they would express the same sentiments.

Charlie had dragged Edward away to talk to him about something, leaving me to the mercy of the two vampire girls. I swallowed.

Alice was walking around me, apparently looking me over, which didn't help the blush that I was guessing would be permanently tattooed onto my face by some point today if I didn't stop. She stopped in front of me, a series expression on her face, "You know, you are much cuter in person Jazz."

"Um... thanks..."

She giggled, "And that's a **_very_** nice ass you got yourself there. Gonna let Edward have a go at it?"

"Alice!" Bella reprimanded, smacking her butt. I turned redder then before, and Edward and Charlie looked over at us with confused looks, before diving right back into whatever serious issue it was that they were discussing. Alice giggled, clearly not at all repentant for her little... outburst.

"That's... hardly something that I'd talk about..." I managed to get out. Then, suddenly, a pair of icy hands were around my wrists and I was being pulled out of the room and up the stairs. "Wha - Alice?!"

"C'mon! I have some stuff that I wanna see you in!" Bella smiled and shook her head, following along behind us. I shot one look back at Edward, who was still talking to Charlie, but there was an amused smirk on his face; he clearly knew what was going on.

"A-Alice!"

It was a little late for me to get away, for one thing, Alice already had a firm grasp on my wrists; secondly, it's pretty much impossible to escape from a vampire when they've got you firmly in their grasp. This was just the first instance that I learned that. So by the time that Alice let me go, we were already what I assumed to be her room.

There was a green leather couch pushed up against one wall, and across from that was a desk with a very nice laptop on it and floor to ceiling bookshelves that were practically crammed with books. Grouped around the couch were a number of bags from stores that I didn't recognize the names of, as well as (shockingly) what looked to be several bags from designer's that I had heard of and **_knew_** were extremely pricey.

"Um... Alice...?"

She giggled and pushed me into the desk chair, before going over and starting to dig into the various bags and pulling out clothes. I stared in open-mouthed shock.

Bella came over and stood beside me, an amused look on her face, "Sorry about her, Alice tends to go overboard with almost everything. This is just her way of making you feel more welcome and at home."

"... she doesn't have too... I mean..." Okay, I had no idea what I meant. I was pretty much overwhelmed by this point in time.

Alice was bustling around, laying out what looked like an outfit to me, and something that I would never even consider wearing. I quit paying attention the moment what looked like a pair of skinny jeans made their appearance. My least favorite thing in the world, and Alice had bought me what seemed like tones of them from the looks of the contents of those bags.

All of a sudden she was pulling out of the chair, and get this, pulling my clothes off. I stared in near abject horror before grabbing at my pants as she tried to pull them off.

"ALICE! STOP THAT!" I stumbled backwards, tripping over the desk chair and nearly thwacking my head against the edge of the desk. "No stripping me!"

Her face was that of absolute innocence as the door opened and Edward peeked in, smirking, "Now, now Alice. You know that I'm the only one allowed to strip him."

"Not you too Edward!" By this point, I was still somewhat wedged under the desk and was bright red like a tomato. Do you know how mortifying it is to have your boyfriend's sister try to strip you, and then having your boyfriend come in and say that they're the only one allowed to strip you? Yeah, today everyone seemed to be trying to embarrass me to the point where I'd never want to see them again.

He chuckled and came over, pulling me out from under the desk and straight into his arms. He scooped me up bridal style with a huge grin on his face; Alice giggled and Bella smirked. "I guess that I'll be prince charming and you can be the fair princess who I have come to rescue from the evil machinations of the wicked witch."

Alice cackled and placed her hands on her hips, "I'm not a witch though Edward! How about dastardly vampire?"

Bella jumped into the conversation now, "Yes, the vampire prince charming coming to rescue his fair human from the clutches of the dastardly vampiress who is intent on removing all his clothes and stealing his virtue!"

My cheeks were flaming and I was sure that Edward could feel that against the icy chill of his skin from where I'd buried my face as they spoke as if this was all just some really weird, demented fairy tale. I chose to stay out of it.

"But that virtue is mine to take," Edward was saying now.

"Yes, yes. Go and deflower your fair maid," Bella was saying as she shooed us from the room. "I have a wife who needs a firm lecture; you come back later and we will bestow our welcoming gift upon your beautiful princess."

"Then I shall see the two devilish young ladies later?"

"Very funny Edward, get going."

The door closed behind us with a firm thud, and then I heard giggles and muffled shrieks. Some lecture that was.

"So sorry about that," Edward was saying as he carried me down the hallway to another set of stairs at the other end; just how many floors did this place have? I'd counted three from outside, but there could be an attic too.

"Moving on from the fact that your adopted sister was trying to strip me and shove me into different clothes... I didn't know that Bella and Alice were married."

"Technically speaking they're not legally married here in the United States, but we did live up in Canada for a few years, and when it was legalized there, they immediately rushed off and planned a lavish wedding. All Alice's plan of course," he was smiling here; it was obvious that while he was very fond of Alice, that her antics were sometimes amusing to him.

"A lavish vampire wedding?"

"Oh yes, for the small ceremony that we had, it was quite opulent. It was just our family and the coven that resides in Alaska; but Alice made sure that it was quite the spectacle. It's in her nature to go overboard on anything that she can, you are no exception."

I sighed at that, "She went and spent a fortune on me... didn't she?"

"By your definitions, yes. By our standards, what she went out and spent for you is not considerably very much. When you live for as long as we do, money has a tendency to stack up; since you don't really have to meet the commodities and needs that humans do."

"... I can imagine."

Edward was already halfway up the stairs when I thought to ask, "Where are we going?"

"To my room, I thought that you would appreciate seeing it. There's a rather good view of the forest from there, and I do have the entire third floor to myself for the moment."

"What do you mean, 'for the moment'?"

"Renée doesn't live with us, if she did, then her room would be up here along with mine. Although, she does keep a studio in the basement, but the third floor is mine, with the exception of a room reserved for Renée and three guest rooms."

This made me think a little, so I asked, "If I... let's go with theory here, so if I moved in with you, once high school is finished, I would get one of the rooms up here then?"

"That's right, though I don't see why any human would ever want to move into a house full of vampires."

"Well not every human happens to feel very safe with their vampire boyfriend's vampire family," I replied. He set me down on my feet once we reached the third floor landing; looking around, the hall looked the same as the rest of the house's interior had. There were rich mahogany floors with almost black wood trim as the baseboards and as crown molding; the doors were also that dark, almost black wood, while the walls were a very warm peach shade.

All in all, it felt very safe and comforting.

Really, it didn't feel at all like this was the home to a group of vampires who drank animal blood to sustain themselves. Maybe that of a reclusive author or artist, but not vampires. All those movies had been very far off.

"Here, my room is the second door on the right." He gently guided me to said door, his hand holding mine again. He opened the door to his room and let me go in first.

Against the left hand wall was, just like Alice's room, floor to ceiling shelving; only one half of this shelving was devoted to CDs, while the other half held a massive amount of books. Some of which looked to be very old; they would probably go for a lot nowadays, but I was impressed by the amount of volumes he had.

The walls were painted a very rich shade of burgundy, and there was a couch and coffee tabled situated in front of the huge floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows so that you could look right out over the forest. Edward hadn't been lying, the view was beautiful. I could see the full stretch of the forest and the backyard of the house; just like the front there were sculptures all over, but the focal point was a gazebo with what looked to be very comfortable and luxurious outdoor lounge furniture.

Back to Edward's room. The empty wall on the right was dominated by a huge abstract painting, while the wall with the door had a very sophisticated sound system that looked to be worth more then Esme's house. Really, the entire place could have been a loft, not a bedroom.

"I spend a lot of my time here when I'm not with you or downstairs at the piano," Edward explained softly once I'd finished admiring his room. I looked back to him, meeting his gold eyes.

"Really? You play the piano?"

"Yes, I do."

Gently, I let go of his hand and drifted over to the huge collection of CDs, I noticed that the entire bottom two shelves of one section were completely dedicated to jazz music, "I play too. Not the piano, I quit that after a year, but I play the saxophone." I let my fingers trail over the cases, looking over the titles as I did so. His room had a better selection then most music stores.

"Really? What made you stop?"

"Well, Carlisle really didn't like my practicing, and you can't actually practice playing sax in an apartment complex. He never bought me one even though I did ask for one multiple times, so I had to make do with the ones that the school rented out. I played up until I transfered here."

There was a thoughtful look on Edward's face when I explained that to him, and I wasn't sure whether or not it boded well, "Edward? What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just thinking."

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately," I replied airily as I continued to examine his extensive collection; there were bands and artists that I had never even heard of. I wondered just **_how much_** music he actually had here. Probably more then my old, thirty gig iPod could handle. Not even the one hundred and sixty gig one could hold all of this, I was sure.

Cold hands came to rest gently on my shoulders before I felt cool breath ghost across the back of my neck, I sighed contentedly as Edward breathed in my scent, "... as delicious as the first time I scented you."

"Which got us into this entire situation."

"Mmm... I suppose it did. I guess that if you had not smelled so desirable, I wouldn't have taken the interest in you that I have, and we wouldn't be here like this." His hands slid down from my shoulder to rest on my upper arms, holding them firmly as he pressed himself against my back.

We stood like that for several long moments, just welcoming the presence of the other. I hadn't noticed that Edward had turned his stereo on until the soft crescendo of some sonata that he'd put on reached my ears. I sighed happily and leaned back into his touch.

The spell that had seemingly fallen over us was broken when there was a soft knock at the door. I started, and Edward pulled me to his side, wrapping his arms around me and holding him close as he called out quietly, "Enter."

Bella swept into the room, a troubled frown on her face, "Rose and Riley just got back. There was someone there, another one of us. They think it was just a wanderer who was curious about the scent of our kind being centered around that house, but they can't be sure. Whoever it was was long gone when they got there. They tracked them farther up the coast but lost the scent when they went into the ocean."

"Alice didn't see anything?"

I listened to the conversation, not involving myself even though it did involve me. Bella shook her head, "No, she wasn't watching the house or Jasper, but she will now. There's the chance that they might come back now that they're curiosity has been raised."

"There was a vampire in my house?" I asked quietly. Bella nodded wordlessly and Edward's arms tightened around me.

"Not one of us though, not one who abstains from the blood of your kind," Edward whispered. I swallowed, trying to control the fear that was now raging through me at the thought of what just might have happened had Edward not shown up when he did.

I could have been dead by now.

"And they might come back?"

Again, Bella nodded.

"Yes, but now we'll be on the watch for them. Esme and yourself are now in danger, in case they are one of those who look for a challenge in what they hunt; but we won't let them get to you. This I promise you."

I turned in Edward's arms and threw my arms around his neck, taking comfort in his presence and embrace. He gave a small nod to Bella who quickly and silently left the room; I wouldn't have noticed if the door hadn't given a soft 'click' when she closed it behind her. This left Edward and I all alone in his room together.

"Would you like to hear me play?" He asked after a few minutes of silent comfort. I nodded.

"Yes, I'd love that."

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

There, you all get your finished chapter. You can thank Jenn who annoyed me to no end until I finished this, and I did. So you all should give your thanks to Jenn for annoying me so much to get this done. It's done now, and my updates are most likely going to be suffering seeing as school's started up once again and I have a rather hectic year ahead of me.

In other news, if there are any chapters or parts of this story that you would like to see from another characters point of view or something that was omitted because Jasper wasn't there, feel free to leave your requests in a comment or review, and I'll see what I can do about it.

Please leave me some nice reviews?

Twilight.


	15. Chapter 14: Theme of Tears

**A/N:** School's started up again, makes me a little sad because I don't actually have much time anymore to work on my fanfics like I'd like too, but it can't be helped. The good news is that I got all the subjects I wanted, and I got the same Social teacher! Which is awesome because he's really really good! So here you are, the next chapter of Poison. We're nearly at the end people.  
**Words:** 3 625 words  
**Disclaimer:** Do I look like I'm rich? Do I look like I would turn out the crap that was published recently? Uh, that would be a lie. I would be  
more creative then that; I wouldn't resort to ripping off fanfiction to write a novel. I have more pride then that.

**Chapter 14: Theme of Tears**

Edward led me back downstairs and into the huge room that dominated the main floor of the house. The piano that I'd noticed before was on a slightly raised platform in the corner by the windows. I noticed that a pair of glass doors that led out into the backyard had been thrown wide open. When I turned back to Edward, he was carefully looking over me.

"Where-"

"They're all outside with Rosalie and Riley; trying to come up with a way to keep you and Esme safe in case that vampire comes back."

"Do you think they will?"

"Well they might. We're not all that sure of what they were doing there or what they're after, so we can't safely see what they'll do. Alice's ability isn't infallible, so there's the chance that something might slip through."

"And that chance is big enough for all of you to be worried," I remarked as he took a seat on the mahogany piano bench and I slid in beside him. Once, when I was really young, I'd taken lessons; they had helped when I had started into playing in a band, but I'd quit after only a year.

"Yes, for your safety and Esme's. Our kind... doesn't move on very quickly when it comes to affairs of the heart, it's a disadvantage to living the existence that we do. You spend so much time without having such a thing as **_love_**, and it hurts you gravely to lose it." He seemed a little distant as his fingers absently traced the ebony and ivory keys and the veins and lines in my hand. I didn't say anything, I just watched him.

"That's why one of the most unforgivable offenses in our society is taking the life of another vampire's mate. The only real law that we live by is that we are not allowed to reveal our existence, our world to humans."

I really wanted to ask, even though I'd told myself that I'd ask anyone but Edward about it, but I couldn't help it, "You've mentioned this whole 'mates' thing before, are you going to tell me what that means?"

A frown creased Edward's face, "In a way, I guess, you could say that it's our race's type of 'marriage', although that really isn't the best way to explain it. Mates are connected at the deepest possible level; if you were looking for an example, that would be Rosalie and Riley, as well as Alice and Bella."

"So they're mates?" Edward nodded. "So you, Renée, and Charlie haven't found yours yet or are you waiting for that special person to find you?"

There wasn't a point in hiding the fact that there was this feeling of nervousness as well as hopelessness that had settled somewhere in the pit of my stomach. I was terrified that there was the slightest chance that this whole 'mate' business would tear me away from him, and I wasn't too sure that I would ever be able to completely move on. Things like this, like what I had with Edward, are life changing events.

"Not really, they don't always **_find_** you, sometimes it's just a matter of being in a certain place at a certain time... like with Renée and your mother. If Esme hadn't been at that gallery opening, I'm not sure that Renée would have seen her..."

"So you're saying that... Renée and my mother... they're... mates...?"

It was a lot to take in.

Almost immediately, Edward's ice cold hand was clench tightly around my wrist, his other hand reached up to cup my cheek gently as his dark gold eyes met mine with a forceful determination, "Breathe Jasper, **_breathe_**."

"I... what... I..."

Yes, I was on the verge of hyperventilating. My vision was starting to blur, a clear indication that I really needed to calm down and take deep breaths; not enough oxygen was making its way to my brain and it was making it incredibly difficult to think. Surprisingly, I could still concentrate well on the sound of Edward's voice.

"Come on Jasper, breathe. Deep breaths, just do what I do..." I was pressed right up against Edward's chest; his chest to my back. He exaggerated the movements and sounds of his breathing, to make sure that I could easily hear it and understand what he was getting at in my oxygen deprived state.

It took another few minutes for me to start to take shaky deep breaths, matching my breathing to Edward's. Finally, I completely relaxed against him; my head coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Are you alright now?" I nodded numbly.

"Will you... explain that?"

"Explain what?"

"What it means. I want to know... what it means for Esme to become Renée's mate. Please, I want to know."

"Jasper..."

"Please Edward?"

He sighed heavily, "Alright, I'll tell you."

Edward settled me against him, so that his arms were wrapped loosely around my waist and his chin rested on my shoulder. Since I was still relaxed against him, it made this entire position easier to manage. I let my hands rest over him, only to have them immediately taken into his icy ones the moment I laid them on his.

"It... to become a vampire's mate, when one is still human... I don't know the full details. Alice and Bella came to us as a pair, and Riley joined us from another coven; all three of them were turned by another party. Only myself, Rosalie, and Renée were actually changed by Charlie himself.

"Alice says that the connection has to be there while the human is still human, their heart beats. You can't just turn anyone and say that they're your mate, it doesn't work that way. There's a connection between mates that isn't tangible to the naked eye; even just laying eyes on the other once is enough, then... the courting comes."

Why did this sound rather familiar?

Oh hell, was he saying that that was what was, in some way, going on between him and I?! I inhaled sharply and my eyes widened as I felt my heart speed up and skip a beat or two. Edward seemed to catch on, and almost immediately, his arms were wrapped tightly around me.

"You don't have to worry, if it's not what you want, then we can break this off at any time that you want. No matter what happens, I won't ever make you do something that is beyond your comfort zone; I love you and want you to be happy, that's all."

We wound up just sitting on the piano bench for several minutes until I'd managed to calm myself down enough to fully comprehend what he'd told me. Instead of confronting it right then, I shoved it away to look over later; there were still a number of questions that I had, but I doubted that Edward would answer them for me, so I would have to wait until I could corner another member of his family and squeeze the answers out of them.

"I'm fine now Edward." Turning around, I wrapped my arms around his neck. "We can talk about this more later... but thank you, for telling me."

He smiled softly as he returned the embrace, "It effects you too, you deserve to know."

Straightening up, "Well, will you play something for me? Like I said, we'll talk more about this later. I have a few more questions for you, and I'm not letting you out of answering them."

Edward's lips tightened, the look in his eyes was one that told me he wasn't willing to go any further into the issue then he already had; but he turned slightly away from me so that he could rest both his hands on the keys and took a deep breath. I sighed and let my head rest on his shoulder as his fingers splayed across the ivory and ebony keys and he began to play.

I felt like melting right then, it was just very fluid and beautiful. Carlisle had sometimes played classical piano around the house, but it had nothing on Edward; he made it sound like multiple people were playing all at once. His fingers were like pale blurs as he played. I was just a little envious.

When I was younger, I'd played, but I'd never been very good. The patience and the lessons had bugged me, and the teacher had been horrid; I'd quit after just barely two years of playing. The next year I'd started junior high and enrolled in band, choosing to play the saxophone.

"Do you like it?" Edward asked, jerking me out of my thoughts. It was a lush piece that seemed to wash over me and calm me down immensely; I was totally relaxed when he'd asked the question, not to mention that I'd spaced out there for a minute.

"What? Oh, yeah... sorry, I kind of spaced out there..." I blushed a little.

He smiled at me, the music obviously relaxed him and he seemed much more open and happy now, "Bella likes to listen to me play... and really, it's all that's kept me going for all of these years."

Carefully, he watched me as I tried, and failed miserably, to keep up with the speed with which his fingers moved, "Do you play?"

"I used too, once, when I was young, but I quit. I play sax now, well, used to I guess. There isn't a band program here in Forks, so I can't continue playing."

Edward frowned in thought, I didn't quite know what he was up too, "Did you enjoy it? Playing the saxophone, I mean."

"Yeah, it was. There was always too many tenors and altos, so I switched to bari in grade eight; it's really fun to be able to play one of the lower instruments. Plus, I was never very good at keeping up with the crazed patterns the the melody often ended up with." (1)

"Hm, and so you play the baritone sax now, correct?"

I nodded, "Yep! I was one of only two in our band back in Vancouver, the other was a sort of slacker. He only got through because of his natural talent for it, not because he practiced; bit of a jerk, actually."

A soft chuckle, "It takes all kinds."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Edward. The guy was a real piece of work, picked on me a lot."

"Don't worry so much about him, you're here, and there's no way that I will allow anyone to degrade you in any manner."

I smiled and leaned my head back to rest on his shoulder, "Thanks Edward."

He returned my smile as his fingers continued to fly at an untraceable speed across the keys, the song that he'd written and was playing now washed over me. I sighed contentedly. Really, I liked just being there with him, he was the first person to accept me as who I was, no questions asked, and no attempts to change how am I.

Yes, I was excluding Angela from this.

Forks was, I was admitting to myself, really a blessing in disguise.

I didn't want to leave anymore, and I didn't hate myself or my choice to have to move here anymore. Now, I didn't consider it self-imposed exile; Carlisle could find the woman of his dreams, I'd found my own love, and Esme had hers. I had friends here.

A home.

Not that I was saying that where Carlisle was wasn't home, I just felt more at home here, in this tiny town, then I'd felt anywhere else that I'd lived. Just the feel of the place made me feel homey. It was kind of weird.

We spent a while just sitting there as Edward played piece after piece for me until I felt like I would just start to nod off. Music had always had this sort of effect on me, the more emotional a piece, the more it served to calm me down; it served as an outlet for all the emotions that I nearly constantly felt racing through me.

Screw empathy.

I snuggled into Edward's side as the final piece finally faded into oblivion on a rather melancholy note. His arm came around my shoulders and pulled me close; we stayed there for a moment until Alice bounced into the room again.

"So, is Jasper gonna be staying for dinner? We're gonna have to order out or maybe go into Port Angeles for dinner if that's the case!"

I stared at the tiny pixie of a vampire. How could she always have so much energy? She seemed to be like a ball of energy, a little kid, who'd just gotten a new toy to play with. I got the feeling that I was the new toy, and she wasn't going to tire of me quickly.

Edward chuckled at the bright smile on her face and whatever it was that was racing through her head at that point. I sort of envied his ability to read minds at this point; I didn't think that whatever it was she was planning didn't bode well for me. The excitement coming off of her was palpable, even Edward had to notice it.

"Yes, of course. I think that going out for dinner would be a great opportunity for the two of us, don't you think Jasper?" Now the attention was on me.

I nodded as I flushed.

"S-sure..."

A smirk flickered across Edward's lips, "Jasper, why don't you go with Alice and get cleaned up a little? I'm sure that she wants to... try out some of her latest purchases on you, and they just might be useful."

My blush suddenly soared as Alice grabbed my wrist, a cheshire grin on her face as she pulled me off the bench and back up the stairs into her own miniature house of horrors.

Also known as, Alice's bedroom.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

At this moment, I disliked that Alice had managed to shove me into something that was completely out of my element and frankly something that I hoped that I would never have to wear again.

First off, Alice had shoved me into a pair of what I was sure were dark skinnies, I turned out to be right, with something I felt a little more comfortable with on top. Just a simple black collared shirt with a deep wine red sweater vest that came down in a V-neckline; the top few buttons of the shirt had been left undone, exposing my neck and collar bone. As for the color scheme... yeah, I know that it was a bit ironic.

As for the final touch... she shoved a black leather jacket into my arms. It was fitted and had one of those sort of Mandarin style collars. With an almost devious grin, she showed me off to myself in the full length mirror that was in her **_massive_** walk-in closet. I learned that almost everything in there was her own; Bella's clothes occupied a small corner near the front of the closet.

"See? You look really, really good!" she was saying. "And just so you know, your ass looks awfully nice in those jeans..."

That grin of hers was back in place.

I made a mental note that I never was to let Alice take control my wardrobe again.

Seriously, she can be unnerving.

But, I did have to admit, I _**did**_ look good.

I was still blushing when the hyperactive vampire took my wrist in a firm, icy grip and pulled me out of the room and back down the stairs into the main room. Bella was there speaking with Charlie and Edward in hushed tones, but they stopped the moment that my feet hit the hardwood floor at the base of the stairs.

There was that lingering feeling that there was something important that they were keeping from me. But I dismissed it for now, I was curious about what it was that Edward had planned for us tonight. It was obviously something big if he was letting Alice drag me around to torture; or that might have been a successful distraction technique to keep from finding something out.

Aw hell, I really didn't care at this point.

See, I was a little distracted by how good Edward was looking in those jeans of his. The snugly fit dark, forest green turtle neck he was wearing and the well-fitted chocolate brown leather jacket he was wearing over top of it. At the moment, I just wanted to ogle him.

Edward turned to us and smiled warmly when he saw me, I blushed; I hadn't missed the very**_appreciative_** look in his eyes when he saw me. That look he was giving me made the whole situation with the clothes seem so much easier to deal with.

"You look perfect," Edward purred into my ear. I hadn't noticed him move, and I doubted I would have even if I had been paying attention to him. All I knew was that he was suddenly at my side, his arm around my hips, whispering lustfully into my, and showing me, really, a lot of his true nature. Who wouldn't be blushing and completely willing to fall into his arms?

Certainly not me.

My knees shook a little and I grabbed his forearm and his neck and pulled him down as forcefully as I could manage into a kiss. I really didn't care that his family was watching or that I was being unusually assertive, I just wanted to kiss him.

Actually, there were several things that I wanted to do to him at that moment, and wanted him to do to me, but none of them were appropriate. So I settled for just kissing him passionately right there in his family's living room.

When I finally had to pull back for air, there was a pleasantly surprised look in Edward's eyes. He smiled at me; which I returned with a slightly breathless smile. I was waiting for my knees to stop trembling and for my vision to focus a little better; that took a little while.

Once I'd regained a semblance of my normal state, a visored helmet was thrust into my hands by Bella. She rolled her eyes and Edward and smiled reassuringly at me before disappearing out the front door with Alice at her side. I noticed that their hands were immediately intertwined as they disappeared out the door in a flash; I hadn't even seen them leave.

"Are you ready?" I looked to Edward, and then to the helmet, not making the connection to what was going on. He grinned.

"Um... just what are we doing...?" I asked, not sure I wanted to know what with that look in his eyes.

"I thought I'd show you something that **_I_** happen to enjoy quite a bit." I noticed that he had a similar helmet to the one that I had tucked under his arm, and I also knew that it was just for show. Edward didn't actually need it.

"Oh hell... you mean-?!"

"Please don't tell me that you have something against motorcycles?" He said that with a joking tone in his voice. I zipped my lips; no way was I telling him that I sort of found them sexy... nope, no way.

"Not in anyway. I'm just surprised."

"Surprised?"

"Yes, I didn't expect you to be the type who'd consider traveling in such a way; you know, to me you seem really rather proper and old-fashioned."

"Oh no," Edward was saying as he carefully zipped my leather jacket up, and then his own. "Once, back when I was human, I used to run errands for several military installments on them. They were a rather convenient way to get around; the cars back then were rather cumbersome and not too great."

"Ah."

"Put your helmet on Jasper, I don't want you to get hurt." I rolled my eyes as I pulled the helmet on, sliding the visor up so that I could see properly. The feeling of the helmet felt a little odd, I'd never worn one before, so yes, it was definitely new. I'd never ridden a motorcycle before either.

Edward had his helmet on too as he led me out the front door and towards one of the out buildings that had obviously been remodeled into a sort of garage; judging by the gravel drive which led up to it. The variety of cars parked inside just sort of solidified it.

After leaving the doors open, Edward gestured towards the hulking bright red and black motorcycle that I was assuming was his. There was another tucked in the back, this one silver, to whom I was wondering owned. Edward noticed where I was looking, and told me, "Bella."

I was surprised; his adoptive sister hadn't seemed the type to own one. But I shrugged it off and slid onto Edward's motorcycle behind him, sliding the visor back down as I wrapped my arms around his chest and clenched my thighs on either side of hips hips.

The engine revved suddenly to life, shocking me so that I jumped a little. Edward chuckled; something that I barely heard over the noise of the engine.

"Hold on tight."

I nodded, eyes wide as I practically clung to Edward as we took off from his home in a spray of gravel and dust. Simply put, I was petrified because we were going **_WAY_** too fast for what had to be safe for dirt roads.

No wait, we were going too fast PERIOD.

Vampires drive like maniacs. All of them do.

I'm not kidding, they really do.

Just ask.

No wait, I don't think you can, seeing as you probably don't know any.

And really, I should stop ranting like that to myself, because it sounds really bad; even when it had just been internal. I guessed that it was the nervousness talking, seeing as how I tended to have short, weird thoughts when I'm anxious.

It took me a little until I'd relaxed enough and had faith in Edward that we wouldn't crash or spin out of control with me winding up splattered across the road. It wasn't that I didn't trust Edward, I really did, but I was still nervous as all hell.

Let's not talk about that...

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little shorter then what you're all used too, but it was really early in the morning when I finished this. Add on that I was exhausted with a really bad headache, and I'm sure that you'll understand. Plus, my ass hurts now. Sitting for an extended amount of time isn't good; trust me.

Anyways, next chapter should be out soon. I want to finish this story sometime this year and get started on the sequel. I'm looking forward to it!

Please comment or review?

Twilight.


	16. Chapter 15: Willow

**A/N:** Since I'm being threatened with a lynch mob, I figured that I'd better start working on this so that it could get up as soon as possible so that I could actually continue with my life instead of fearing for it. (Not that any of you would kill me, right?) So here's the fifteenth chapter; I'll try to work out some sort of schedule so that I can update this more often...  
**Words:** 3 451 words  
**Disclaimer:** I think that you ALL know that I'm not Stephanie Meyer, hence I don't own anything. That means that I'm just borrowing; they'll be back when I'm done.

**Chapter 15: Willow**

Some things aren't all that scary when you get used to them, like the fact that your boyfriend's a vampire, but Edward's maniac driving on a motorcycle of all things terrified me! I mean, I couldn't see the speedometer, but we had to be going in excess of **_at least_**a hundred miles an hour! If this was some attempt to scare me into never doing anything reckless like this, it sure as hell was working!

I was pretty sure that if Edward had been human, that I'd have squeezed the breath out of him; honestly I was clinging to him that tightly. Never again would I step foot on a motorcycle, not even if my life depended on it.

Not even the city limits and speed limit signs slowed down Edward's breakneck speed, but his mind-reading abilities kept the cops from seeing us. There were still a LOT of stares; most people probably thinking something along the lines of _what a homicidal maniac_!

Life must really hate me by this point.

The place that Edward had picked out (I was guessing he'd picked it out beforehand) was a small little tourist trap Italian place that blended in well with the very friendly atmosphere that Port Angeles had. For tourists, it was a better place to go to then Forks; which is more for the outdoorsy type. You know, hiking and hunting; that sort of thing.

Anyways, inside it was practically empty, but the hostess that greeted us definitely was giving Edward more then the once over. She didn't apparently seem to care that the guy she was checking out was holding **_my_** hand, and that he wasn't actually paying attention to her attempts at flirting; there was a feeling of almost cruel joy in me at that. My boyfriend, you can't have him.

"Good evening," she greeted.

"Hello, could I please get a table for two? Preferably somewhere private?" There was just the slightest twitch, whatever had run through the hostess' mind hadn't been something that Edward agreed with. When the woman nodded, a little disappointedly, Edward's hand squeezed mine gently.

She led us through the mostly empty tables until we reached a small ring of equally empty booths towards the back of restaurant, away from the door and kitchen, as well as the few other people in the restaurant. Edward waited as I slid into one side, before he slid into the side opposite of me, the hostess smiled, "Your server will be out shortly."

Edward nodded with a small smile.

Then he turned back to me, smirking.

"I see Alice got to have her fun."

I blushed, he was looking me over appreciatively and it was embarrassing. In a flattering way. "It's not really... I mean... I don't feel all that comfortable with this."

Again, he gave me that warm smile that sent reassurance through my spine, "Don't worry so much about it. You look beautiful." I blushed darker and immediately looked away. "Anyone would be jealous of me for having you. All to myself, I might add."

I felt a shiver of anticipation run down my spine. But before I could say anything in reply, a peppy looking young teen was standing by our booth; she was obviously the waitress.

"Hello, what can I get for you to drink this evening?" She slid two menus onto the table. This time I didn't miss the way her eyes raked over Edward **_and_** myself. My cheeks warmed up a little more, she smiled at me.

"I'll just have water." She scribbled that down and half-turned to me, pen still on the paper.

"Um, Coke please."

"Alright! I'll be back with you in a few minutes." She disappeared around the corner of the booths, still smiling. I looked back to Edward, who was looking at me still; he probably hadn't taken his eyes off of me.

He raised his eyebrows, I almost glared back at him, "Not interested, Edward."

"Really? She's definitely interested in you, Jasper." He propped his head up in his hand, watching me closely as I frowned, then proceeded to promptly glare at him. **_That_** was completely uncalled for and not necessary.

"Yeah, and I don't care. I told you that you're the only one I'm interested in, so quit trying to pawn me off to someone else, if that's what you're trying to do."

Edward looked at me hard for a brief moment, "No, but I want you to keep your options open. As much as I don't like to think about it, I know that you deserve someone better then me; someone who won't always be trying to resist the urge of your blood."

"And I thought I told you that-"

"Here are your drinks!" The waitress was back, beaming at us as she slid the icy glasses onto the table in front of us. She turned to me almost immediately after that, "So, have you decided what you'd like to order?"

We both placed our order and she went to go place them with the kitchen before going to check on some other customers and clean a few tables that had been emptied. I turned my full attention back to Edward, the anger was still there and simmering.

"I thought that we already had this discussion."

"Yes, but please do understand that it will always be there, festering in the back of my mind."

"But I don't want you to be thinking about that. I already told you that I'd decided, and I'm not backing out now. So stop beating yourself up about this lust of yours, I've accepted it, I'm just waiting for you to do the same."

It was the truth, plain and simple. Edward thirsted for my blood, and I would let him have it; all he would have to do was ask and I'd gladly give it to him, even if it would kill me. That was how much he meant to me, and even I knew that it was dangerous for me to feel so deeply about him, especially with what he is. Seriously though, I didn't much care by this point.

"... thank you Jasper."

It was a start, but I was hoping that I was making progress at least.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Dinner passed in relatively normal standards, I guess you could say. You know, **_normal _**stops applying when your boyfriend can read minds and stop a truck with his bear hands. Plus, the whole lusting for blood thing is just like something out of a horror or fantasy novel; and I don't just mean the good ones.

I was very much tempted to compare this to one of those shoddy romances aimed at tweens who will devour any romance involving the supernatural and tout it as the best book every written.

Still, when we were walking down the boardwalk, hands entwined, I couldn't help but feel really warm and happy; despite the clichéd situation I was finding myself in. I guess even I needed my own little fairy tale.

The definition of 'fairy tale' here being very loose.

Even though the beaches near Vancouver were a popular place for high school students, romantic trysts, dates, you name it; I'd only been once or twice, and that had been as a young child with my dad. But it was a lot different with Edward.

I took my shoes off and had to tuck my socks into them so that I wouldn't have sandy feet when I put them back on. Edward, on the other hand, was wearing boots, so he didn't have the same worry about sand that I did. I think it might have had something to do with his being a vampire, but I didn't say anything about that; nor did I go any more into that train of thought.

Edward chose to stay on the boardwalk that ran alongside the street that ran along the stretch of beach that we'd walked to from the restaurant. He plunked down there and just sat there watching me as I kicked my way through the sand and surf, just enjoying myself. I wished that Edward was there beside me, but he'd said something rather cryptic when I'd asked him to join me.

So I spent the waning daylight hours kicking at the sand near the ocean's edge, enjoying the feel of sand between my toes.

I hadn't been really paying attention, so when my toes caught on a large rock, I pitched forward and collided headfirst with the guy who'd been standing there who I hadn't noticed at all. Strong hands grabbed my forearms and steadied me, I would've fallen on my butt if they hadn't caught me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward shoot to his feet; an almost angry gleam in his eyes. My arm was quickly folded into the elbow of the guy who'd just caught me, and he was walking away down the beach with me. What the hell!

"Hey! Let me go! Damn!" I pulled, trying to break free, but the guy's grip was tight, almost superhuman. And fuck! Was he running a fever or something?! His skin felt like it was on fire. When I got a good look at him, I recognized him from that outing to La Push, but I didn't know his name.

"Billy told me to come talk to you." His voice was low, and I heard a very angry tinge to it.

"Oh really? Do tell." I was pissed.

I didn't miss the hateful look he cast at Edward, who looked like he wanted to throttle the life out of the guy. I was tempted to just ask Edward to do so.

"He heard from Chief Cullen that you were seeing one of the Swans," the guy started. "And he doesn't think that's such a good idea. The Swans are dangerous."

Oh fuck, this guy was kidding me!

"Message delivered! Now fucking let go of me!" I pulled harder, but he didn't let go of me and continued to drag me along the beach. Farther and farther from Edward, I turned away from him and reached back desperately for him. "I said **LET GO**!"

In a flash, Edward was there. I hadn't seen him move, just like that day in the parking lot where he'd stopped me from being turned into a pancake. His icy hands wrapped firmly around mine, that stopped the young man who'd grabbed me in his tracks.

Dark brown eyes met gold, and I could feel the tension being nearly palpable in the air. Sufficiently distracted, I was able to remove myself from the too tight grip of the bum who'd grab me and immediately tucked myself behind Edward where I felt much safer.

I glared out from around Edward at him, "I said I got it! So go tell Billy to stick his nose into his own kids' lives!"

The guy continued to look at Edward, his eyes pissed off, "I can't do that."

At that moment, I was awfully tempted to flip off the ass.

"Piss off!"

"I can't do that either."

Edward spoke up next, "I do believe that my boyfriend asked you to leave. He's perfectly capable of making his own decisions." I stuck my tongue out at the guy.

"... I'll talk to you when the leech isn't around." I didn't miss the flinch Edward made, and I ran my hand in a soothing gesture along his arm and squeezed his bicep. When he shot me a short look, I smiled reassuringly at him.

"C'mon Edward, let's go. I think we should be getting back to town before Esme panics, although, I think she and Renée will be up to something. Please Edward?" I had to use a pleading tone for the last part, for I felt that I'd have to appeal to everything in him to get to him to agree to it.

Maybe having Edward not being able to read my thoughts wasn't such a good thing. Somewhere in the back of my mind was a mantra that was begging Edward to come with me, I got the feeling that this man and Edward... if they fought...

I refused to think of it.

"Edward? Come on, love, please?" I tugged lightly on his hand, trying to pull him away.

Eventually, Edward broke eye contact with the young man, who gave him one last dark glare before he left and rejoined a gang of teens from the reserve. None of them I could put a name too, but they looked familiar; I guessed that they'd been t the bonfire too.

The moment that they'd driven off, Edward turned to me and I smiled at him. His eyes were almost dead, they was a sadness and anger in there too. Without warning, he very early collapsed on me, his lips covering mine in a near desperate kiss that took my breath away. When he finally pulled away after successfully plundering my mouth thoroughly, I was breathing hard and feeling quite dazed.

"My apologies." His breathing hadn't even increased, I felt a little envious of his not needing to breathe. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't let them get to me like that."

"No! I mean..." I blushed a little as he started to lead me off of the beach, supporting quite a lot of my weight. I was still woozy from his kiss. "Don't worry about it Edward, I told you before that I don't care about **_that_** part of you. In fact, I'm sort of grateful for it."

Yes, you have to imply things to avoid speaking about your boyfriend's vampirism in public. See what I go through for him?

A small smile tugged at Edward's lips, "Really now... that's... good, I suppose."

"It's a good thing that you're near in-destructible," I continued. "Otherwise I'd be a splatter on the high school parking lot and rotting in the Forks cemetery." He sat me down on the boardwalk and gracefully started brushing away the sand from my feet before putting my shoes and socks back on.

"Perhaps I should demonstrate some of my other skills to you. Being a vampire has a number of pluses, I suppose you could say." His hand felt pleasantly cold around mine as he led me back through the streets to where he'd parked the motorcycle.

Just before he slid the helmet back onto my head, he kissed me senseless so that I had to rely on him to help me onto the bike. I tightly held on to him as we took off from Port Angeles. The trip back was silent except for the air and wind rushing by us as we sped along the highway.

Apparently Edward was in a rush to return, because the trip back didn't take as long as the trip to Port Angeles. The light gray clouds were darkening when the two of us pulled into the driveway of his family's home. Edward scooped me off the motorcycle and into his arms, smirking to beat all hell, as he carried me into the house.

"I hope that Esme doesn't mind your absence for an hour or two more. There is just one more thing I would like to try before this day is out."

"Um, okay. If you want - hey!"

The bridal style carrying that Edward favored with me was making me feel a little uncomfortable. When he entered the house, it was freakishly deserted compared to the bustling energy that I'd felt here earlier. I chalked that up to Alice, the girl could fill a room with her energy if she was in the right mood.

I hadn't noticed the extensive entertainment system set up in one corner of the room, with a very comfortable and expensive looking couch positioned in front of it with an antique looking coffee table between it and the huge flat screen that dominated the wall. As some might say, Edward's certainly got it all; looks, money, intellect.

Damn.

I could hear Emmett's voice in my head now, _"You sure know how to pick 'em Jazz."_

Edward set me down just beside the couch and went over to the entertainment system. Most of the lights were turned out, and the stairs and upstairs hall were like a black hole, but the lights over the hugely empty part of the main floor which suspiciously resembled a dance floor.

Oh no.

**_Fuuuuck._**

"Edward... you're not thinking of dancing with me, are you?"

The soft strains of classical music reached my ears as Edward smiled at me before quickly joining me, I took a tiny step back.

"No! No way, nu-uh. I'm not dancing."

He cocked his head to the side, his hand held out expectantly to me, "Why not?"

I blushed, "... I can't dance."

"That's easy enough to remedy, just trust me, okay?" Slowly, I nodded and placed my hand in his. Edward smiled and quickly pulled me out onto the floor. I'd taken dance in gym, it's one of those stupid units you have to take, the partner dancing. No one had ever wanted to pair with me because I had the tendency to step all over my partner's toes.

Of course, with Edward I wasn't leading. His hands were cold and firm, mine held high in one of his the other secure around my waist. I let my hand rest on his shoulder, and looked into his eyes, searching for something even I wasn't too sure of. Though I trusted him with my life, I wasn't so sure when I was pulled onto the dance floor.

"Now, just relax, don't look at your feet, and follow my lead."

As I took a deep breath, Edward started to dance. It was easier then I'd thought, though I knew that I didn't look nearly as graceful and elegant as Edward did. I kept having to make extra steps to keep up with him and make sure that I didn't fall down or injure myself. Edward had been born in a time where dancing like this was something a man was expected to know how to dance, to know how to be a proper and real gentleman.

But I didn't fall, and it got gradually easier to follow him through the steps as he twirled me around the dance floor with this huge smile on his face. In fact, I was improving; it was getting much easier to match his fluent and sometimes complicated movements.

I don't think either of us noticed when the darkness outside was deathly choking, and we didn't break out of our trance that we'd seem to settle into until the clock started to chime marking the midnight hour. That startled both of us and Edward held me to him, laughing.

"Come on, I should probably get you home, shouldn't I? It **_is_** awfully late."

"Yeah you should. I hope Renée knocked Esme out again, otherwise you're going to be in a lot of trouble!" That only made Edward's smile grow bigger as he took hold of my hand, holding me close to his side as we left the house for his Volvo.

Maybe it was the late hour or maybe just my being really happy, but my balance was more then a little off. Again, Edward seemed to find this intensely amusing which earned him a dirty look from me.

We got back to my house in about twenty minutes, and Edward helped me sneak in through my bedroom window which I had luckily left open and unlocked. Renée was leaning against my door, smirking.

"You know, if you're going to sneak back in with your boyfriend Edward, you should really call ahead," Renée told him. "And Jasper? I hope you don't plan on making this a habit. There's only so many ways I can distract Esme from your continued absence."

I chose not to ask why she was wearing my mother's light purple, fluffy bathrobe. There are a lot of things that I don't need to know about my mother, the details of her relationship with Renée is one of those.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

I'm sorry about if this chapter seemed to drag, but it's more of a filler chapter then anything. Things are going to start to pick up next chapter, and actually, I think this story is nearing its conclusion. My hope is that I can finish it up by the end of this year or in the beginning of the next year.

Oh right! November is here, which means that it's NaNo-ing time, so I don't think that there will actually be an another update for this story this month, sorry guys. But I am doing fanfiction for this year's NaNo, just to ease myself into it as this is my first year.

For NaNo, yes, you will be able to find the fanfiction that I will be doing for it here on Live Journal and up on ; for those of you who are interested. But after this month, I'll try to give you guys a better updating schedule, but until the end of November, you won't be getting anything new for this one, I do not believe. Sorry guys.

Anyways, give me a review or comment? Please?

Twilight.


	17. Chapter 16: The Other Side

**Notes:** Yeah, yeah. I should work on my NaNo fanfic, but somehow, I wound up actually working on this and completing it. Blame Jen, she pokes, prods, and threatens me to get the chapter done as soon as I possibly can. Still, I do say that she's still my friend... she's good at kicking the muses into action, and that's good since I want to finish this story as soon as possible; preferably this year. I want to work on a fanfiction for a different fandom before I start on the sequel for this one. Well, enjoy your chapter.  
**Words:** 6 379 words  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the _Twilight_ series or its characters, meaning that I don't get anything from writing this. The plot I do own, but nothing else.

**Chapter 16: The Other Side**

I knew that the week would suck and low and behold, I was right! But then, I guess it wasn't something that I should really be all that proud of, because it had to start off on a crappy note. For one thing, it was another one of those rare sunny days in Forks, which meant no Edward. Secondly, Jessica had apparently taken it upon herself to do her best to extract whatever gossip she could from me to then spread about the school as quickly as possible.

Angela tried her best to help me shake off the persistently annoying blond, but apparently Jessica had picked this time to be stubborn. She wouldn't go away without some dirt.

"So come on! I called your house yesterday, and your mom told me that you were out on a date with **_Edward_**," she said his name with a dreamy tone that told all, "So I want details! How was your date? What did you two do? C'mon! Give me something to pass along! Is he a good kisser?"

"Jess, go away. I'm not talking about my love life, AT ALL." I continued on my way to English, Angela at my side trying to quietly discourage Jessica, who was completely running over her. It was like she wasn't there at all.

"Just one little detail, one insignificant tiny little detail? Pleeeaaasseee?" All of a sudden she was latched onto my arm and clinging to it, her fingernails were painted and long and dug through the fabric of my hoodie and into my arm.

"Fiine... Edward's very polite, does that work for you?"

"A little more detail?"

"... old-world charm." I shrugged off her and continued on my way to English, Angela close behind me. Luckily Jessica seemed satisfied with that response so she left us alone when we finally came into the class and I took my seat beside Angela.

Class seemed to drag by, and I found myself sincerely wishing that I didn't have to suffer through the rest of the day. But at least I got out of gym, my worst and least favorite subject. That was one plus, at least; I'd be able to get home earlier then if I did have to stick around for it.

Hell, even if I was still in it, I think that I'd still skip it. Screw marks, I didn't want to have to put up with Mike's BS anymore then I already had. He'd be at it again, I was sure, since Edward wasn't here today. Which begged the question of why I even bothered to come to school seeing as I'd have to put up with people bugging me all day. A disadvantage to dating the hottest guy in school, but I'd take it.

Silently, I hoped that the next day would be nice and cloudy, seeing as I didn't want to have to put up with the annoyances again. Edward's really good at scaring people off, something about him just seems to tell people that there's something about him that they had better stay away from.

Obviously that had no effect on me, and Angela was slowly getting over her trepidation of Edward so that made for one less person. For some reason, I wanted him to be a little more welcomed into his world, because I'd been shown such a warm welcome into his.

"How was your weekend Jasper? I didn't get to ask earlier..." Angela asked quietly as we left English.

"Oh, it was good. I met Edward's family on Sunday, they seem really nice, and we had a few dates too..." I felt a lot more comfortable sharing these sorts of things with Angela then I did with anyone else, with the exclusion of my mother and Emmett. But I omitted certain details, mostly concerned their special 'gifts' and the fact that they weren't exactly human...

Yes, let's not have everyone look at me like I'm crazy.

"That sounds really good, it's always a good sign when the family readily accepts you. I didn't really do anything this weekend... but I think that my mom wants my sisters to visit her out in New York, though I don't really have any plans..."

"Don't worry about it Ang, I'm sure that you could do something with Edward and I. I don't have any plans yet either, but that's not saying much. Alice will probably spring something on me, she really seems to like me... I think it's just having someone new around..."

Angela's face slipped into a contemplative frown, "She's the youngest of Edward's sisters, isn't she? The pixie-like one?"

Hm, turns out I'm not the only one who's compared Alice to a pixie, it's sort of fitting, "Yes that's Alice."

"Somehow, I think she's the least intimidating out of her whole family. No offense to you or Edward, Jasper. But she's really an approachable person..." I didn't miss the faint tinge to Angela's cheeks when she said that. Looks like someone has a bit of a crush... "She's really rather pretty, not that the other two aren't..."

I chose not to talk about Angela's seeming crush on Alice, "I guess so, if I hadn't met Edward, I'd say that she would be someone who'd I'd definitely pay attention too."

"Yes... but you're all eyes for Edward, anyone can tell you that. Well, not the bull-headed idiots, but anyone with two eyes and good sense can." She shot a dark glare that I wouldn't have given her credit for had I not seen it, at a gang of gangly boys who were looking at me with obvious disdain and disgust. "The two of you are really devoted to each other, that's more then can be said for some."

Another dark glare was shot in the direction of a few footballers and their air-headed bimbos that passed as their girlfriends. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of those girls passed themselves around like beer at high school parties.

Small town life is really rife with gossip, I hope you all know.

"Edward's the person that I guess I've always been looking for but never knew that I was until I found him. As cliché as that sounds, it's the truth." I was pleased to find that I was getting better at not blushing like a love-sick fool whenever Edward and our relationship entered the conversation.

She smiled at me, "I'm really happy for you. I hope that I'll be as lucky as you one day, to be so sure of someone that I know I love..."

I gave her a one-armed hug around her shoulders, "Don't worry about it. You'll find that special person one day. There's no way that you couldn't! Who wouldn't want to be with someone like you?"

"Thanks Jasper."

The rest of the day passed in a bit of a blur, with me being anxious to get back home to where I hoped that Edward was waiting for me. Having Renée around to act as distraction for Esme helped a lot, and I'd never been more happy that my mom was seeing someone. I think that the fact that she was, for the first time that I'd seen in a long time, happy. Well, beyond happy, it was like a transformation had taken place inside of her.

Esme wasn't the constantly tired woman that I'd grown up knowing, who had seemed lonely even with her young son at her side on vacations. I think that she's one of those people who needs a pillar of support in her life, especially after the fiasco she'd had with Carlisle, which was followed by the death of her father when I was about nine.

I'd actually liked my grandfather Alexander quite a bit; despite that I'd only met him a few times at a few Cullen family reunions that I'd been taken too. The fact that I was only half-Cullen didn't seem to sit too well with most of the family, nor did the fact that my last was different from my mother's.

But my grandfather didn't seem to mind that, he'd said that I was still his grandson, no matter what my last name was or what was in my blood. I had Cullen blood in me, and that was good enough. I could still dimly remember long hours spent sitting on the floor in front of him, listening to him tell tales about 'the good old days' and his long talks about war buddies who'd passed on with the years or during the war.

Grandma Katherine had passed on before I was born, back when Esme had just finished high school and was fresh into her marriage with Carlisle. I think that's when things had started to fall apart between them; Carlisle has never been all that great when dealing with others who have lost a loved one.

It's why he prefers working behind the scenes at hospitals, he never actually takes the opportunities to ever speak with a patient's family. He's not exactly a people person, and I doubt that he ever will be.

Apparently though, life had decided to throw me a curve ball, because when I got home that evening after school, I found one Jacob Black sitting on my front porch with a serious and pensive look on his face.

I parked the borrowed Volvo and walked over, raising my hand in greeting. I couldn't help but grin at him, "Hey!"

"Oh! Hey Jazz," for some reason, the nickname didn't sound forced when he said it. It just rolled off his tongue like it was completely natural; I had been right about him, then. But there was a distracted look about him. I noticed that there wasn't another car present; had he walked into Forks from La Push?

"So what're you doing here? Did you get a ride into town or did you walk?"

"Uh... some other guys from the reserve came up here to do something, and I tagged along," he buried his head in his hands. "Did you know that my dad's been repeatedly phoning your place this weekend? I told him that he doesn't have any right to be poking around in your business, but he kept insisting that he knew what was best..."

"What? Billy was calling my house?! Huh... Esme didn't mention anything about that..."

Jacob shook his head, looking really nervous, "Apparently the calls either went to the answering machine or someone that Billy didn't want to hear answered the phone... although I can't be too sure, but his reactions definitely told me that something had pissed him off. What little I could get out of him wasn't very helpful."

I could feel my stomach tying itself up in queasy knots of unease; something wasn't right here, and I didn't know why, "What could piss him off so much?"

"You remember those old legends I told you about?" His eyes looked about, almost as if he was worried someone had followed him; his voice had dropped into a low whisper, it was easy to miss.

"Oh, you mean about the Swans." It wasn't a statement, and Jacob knew that as well I did, but he still answered it like it was a question.

"Yeah..." He looked around before bouncing quickly back to his feet. "You don't mind if I hang around here for a while, do you? I don't wanna be stuck with the dark ball of fuming gloom right now."

I thought it over. Edward had probably overheard our entire conversation, so he would probably figure something out to make his showing up at my house seem completely normal; or as normal as we could manage. There's not very much in the form of 'normality' when it comes to us.

"It's alright, come on in." I walked passed Jacob, unlocking the door and then opening it, I let him in before me. I kicked my shoes off before ditching my bag by the table and dropping my keys into the bowl there; if Edward was going to continually lend me his car, then I should probably ask him for a duplicate set, that way I wouldn't always be borrowing his keys. I'd ask him about it later.

"That's a pretty nice care you're driving. Whatever happened to the Jeep Esme bought off Billy?"

My head snapped up as I was about to head towards the kitchen, "Some girl at school decided it would be a good idea to turn me into a pancake, apparently. It sort of got totaled in the accident."

"Whoa, someone tried to actually kill you? Why?" I had his full attention now.

"Don't really know. I think it has something to do with Edward though, she's the horribly jealous type."

"Ohhh..."

"Jasper? That you?" Renée poked her head around the corner of the stairwell. "Oh! You brought company?" Jacob seemed a little startled to see Renée there, but the woman has the uncanny ability to make anyone feel welcome like they're at home with just a smile and the tone of her voice.

"Um, hi."

"Well, hello there. Jasper, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Right, uh... Renée, this is Jacob Black, and old family friend. Jacob, this is Renée Swan, my mother's um... girlfriend." I still had absolutely no idea what my mother's relationship with Renée really was defined as, but I wasn't about to ask either of them; I'd like to keep my mind as clean as possible.

She stuck her hand out with a warm smile that put Jacob immediately at ease, "You're welcome here Jacob Black."

I was surprised to see him blush a little, but then I reminded myself that not everyone was used to how stunning any of the Swans could be when they really tried; or not, depending on the situation. But he replied, "It's really nice to meet you miss Swan."

"Oh psh! Renée will do just fine!" After shaking hands, Renée waved him off at the formality. "Anyways, the two of you hungry? I'll whip everyone up some good snacks before I start in on dinner! Would you like anything in particular Jacob?"

"No, whatever you make is fine." He was shooting her shy glances, but I could tell that really even if either of them wanted to make it work that it wouldn't. Even the most blind person when it comes to these sorts of things could tell that Renée only had eyes for Esme; it was there in her eyes when I'd mentioned her relationship with my mother. She was so dedicated to her that I wouldn't be too surprised if she threw herself in front of a semi if she believed that it would save Esme's life.

Although, I doubted that it would do any damage at all to the female vampire.

The living room was the cleanest I'd seen it during my stay here, and I wondered just what else Renée was doing to fill her time when she wasn't doing something. Obviously she'd taken up the role of house wife, and she seemed to fill the role well; even better then how I'd done for Carlisle, it made me feel the slightest bit jealous. But then again, I thought, women for some odd reason have the ability to usually keep places clean better. Maybe it had something to do with ingrained and traditional gender roles? But then again, I didn't actually know Renée's background all that well, so I would have to ask her about that so that I could make a fairly accurate guess. Edward seems to always skimp out on the details of his family's lives; well, their lives **_before_** they were turned into vampires. I made a mental note to ask about that too.

Jacob had flopped down onto the couch and was already channel surfing by the time I'd come back down to planet Earth. He looked over at me, "You gonna sit down?"

"Yeah, sorry..." I took my usual corner of the couch, pulling my legs up and crossing them. Jacob sort of looked like a couch potato with the way he'd thrown himself artlessly onto the couch.

Then, distraction came in, "Did anything good happen in school today?"

"Nothing good ever happens at Forks High," I replied dryly. "Although, all the exciting stuff that happens now seems to always somehow or another involve me. I don't think that anyone's had more accidents or weird experiences in their first week of high school then I've had in just the short amount of time that I've spent in this town."

"Can't be all bad, though this place does kind of suck."

I smiled, "No, it's not all bad... seeing Esme happy makes me feel a lot better, and of course, there's Edward too..."

"Awww... nothing about me?" Jacob tried to pout but failed miserably and we both wound up laughing.

"You don't actually live in Forks, so you don't count! But yeah, you're probably making this stay a lot better. I've only got what? Two friends, one jealous guy intent on dating me, and a really devoted and loving boyfriend. Forks has dealt me one of the strangest hands in the history of high school." And that's leaving out all the rest about the supernatural. Jacob rolled his eyes, but there was still mirth in his eyes and face.

"Yeah, yeah, your life is one strange turn after another... so, will I ever get to meet this Prince Charming of yours?" I blushed.

"Oh so what? I'm the fair princess in the tower? The damsel in distress?"

"Uh, yeah, that pretty much sums you up!" Jacob dodged the couch cushion I threw at his head, which was promptly followed by another as he burst into laughter. Both of us didn't hear the soft knock at the door, nor did we notice or hear Renée answer the door and let Edward in; it meant that I completely missed their silent, apparently one-sided conversation. Jacob and I didn't realize that Edward was there until the vampire was beside me and leaned down to leave a quick peck on my temple, which sent me into another blushing fit.

"Hello there," Edward greeted.

Jacob grinned, "Hi."

"Um, Edward, this is Jacob; Jacob, this is my boyfriend, Edward." _Actually, he's my vampire boyfriend, but you don't need to know that._ I was hoping that maybe he could be more then just a _**boyfriend**_... Somehow, Edward had suddenly made himself into the center of my world; I'd do anything for him. I would give him anything, even if he didn't ask for it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jacob," Edward held his hand out, his face a warm, if not a little wary, smile. I noticed that Jacob hesitated, if only for a moment, but then he reached out and took my boyfriend's hand firmly and shook it. I couldn't tell, though, if he noticed the frigid feel to Edward's hands; and I'll admit that I was a little nervous about that.

He didn't say anything about it.

Settling down beside me, Edward pulled me against his side, his arm casually around my shoulders as I was pushed into the middle of the couch between the two. Even though I was sitting between two people who were, in all actuality probably mortal enemies, it didn't feel that way. In fact, it all felt completely natural; like this was exactly how it was supposed to be, that I could trust either of these two with my life, that just maybe they would do the same for each other. The feeling was nearly overwhelming.

Eventually, Renée poked her head back into the room, asking if Jacob wanted to stay for dinner. That sort of startled all of us out of the weird atmosphere that had settled over us; Jacob nearly fell off the couch, something that Edward and I nearly laughed at. Of course, Jacob glared at us because of that, but he really didn't mean it.

"I'd love too Renée," Jacob began, "But I can't. I gotta get back to where I said I'd meet up with the others, and I can't have Billy, uh, my father, worry over me too much... plus I have homework to do too."

"Well, alright then. But remember that you're welcome here at any time; I'm sure that Esme would be happy to see you around a lot more, Jasper too." I had to wiggle out of Edward's hold to see Jacob off, but I managed.

"You take care, 'kay Jazz?" Jacob told me. I could tell how serious he was.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be fine; I've got Edward to watch out for me."

"Yeah, I get the feeling I won't have to worry about you too much with him around. Edward'll keep you safe, so long as you don't go and do something reckless. So just make sure you take really good care of yourself, cause I get the feeling that Edward's the type to blame himself for things."

I didn't want to think about how dead on that observation was, so I said, "I won't do anything reckless or stupid. I'm more or less worried about the people who just might decide that giving me trouble is a good idea." I was thinking of one idiotic blond when I said that, as well as another witchy girl.

"Well, just take care. See ya round Jazz!" And Jacob raced out into the light rain that had started up at some point this evening. I watched him go till he was at the end of the drive, then I shut the door and turned back into the hall.

Edward was suddenly in front of me when I'd turned around, and I was pinned against the door. There was a look in his eyes of worry, fear, anger, and love; as well as a whole other swirl of emotions that I couldn't put a name too. I didn't notice Renée lurking in the back, half-hidden in the hallway which branched off and led into the kitchen; my eyes were locked on the whirlwind of emotions that were Edward's eyes. Something had happened, I knew that much, but I just didn't know what. A part of me was hoping that I'd finally be learning about whatever it was that had the entire Swan family on edge.

"Listen Jazz..." He pulled back a little, and I could see that there was a nagging worry now, and it was centered around me. I reached out and grabbed his hand before he could move too far away from me. Gently, I brought his icy hand up and pressed it to my cheek, quickly pressing my lips to his palm before I did so.

"I trust you Edward; I trust you with my life, my heart, everything. So please... tell me what's troubling you." Let me in; let me help you however I can.

His hand twitched a little in mine, before he leaned in, brushing his lips across mine once before resting his head on my shoulder, "We still don't know who was here, or what they want, but we're preparing for the worse. I'm sorry, Jasper, I've put you into danger. You and your mother. There's the chance that... that someone might be interested... interested in hunting either of you..."

"Hunting...?" I didn't like the sound of that. Edward nodded, his eyes hard but sad.

"Yes, sometimes our kind... likes a little **_challenge_** in the prey that they hunt; not all of them are like us. Very few choose to try and restrain our 'true nature', many view humans with disdain." His hands were gentle on my face as he cradled it in his hands; thumbs softly caressing my cheek bones. His eyes were flickering over my face; looking for something, but I wasn't too sure of what he expected to find.

I got the feeling that I was supposed to be scared, but there was this feeling of safety that I couldn't shake off; no matter how hard I tried to make myself feel fear. For some reason, I felt safe, protected. My hands had dropped from Edward's, they'd fallen against the door which I was still cornered against. Trying to meet Edward's eyes was difficult, but eventually I managed to catch and hold them.

"What are we going to do about it?"

That seemed to startle him. His eyes shot wide, shock clearly written across his face, and he blinked several times, "What do you mean?"

"You just said that someone might be coming after me or Esme, a vampire. So what are we going to be doing about that?" Edward's hands slipped down from my face to come to a rest at my waist. I didn't mind the shift in position; I brought my arms up to wrap around his neck.

"No risks; Renée and I won't be letting either of you out of our sight, or at least, neither of you will be left alone. One of us will always be with you, just not always within sight."

I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire, "So we're in protective custody then?"

"Yes, something like that, I suppose." Edward pulled me to him suddenly; surprising me a little with the desperation that he was displaying. "Until we're sure that the danger's passed, please don't wander off on your own. Stay where one of us can be close enough to help you, I don't ever want to lose you."

Leaning into Edward, I sighed and took a deep breath of his scent, "I promise... so long as you don't take any risks to protect me. Don't make me be the one who has to lose you."

I didn't know how long we stayed like that, but we eventually snapped out of it when the headlights of Esme's cruiser shone through the front windows and the sound of her tires grating on the cement of the driveway. Edward gave a small smile before releasing me, but took my hand in his as we returned to the living room and the awaiting couch. His hands then spent the remainder of the wait for my mother's entrance to the house tracing the lines on my palms. I heard the kitchen door open, and Renée greeting Esme as she came into the house; although I couldn't make out what the words that were being exchanged were. The corner's of Edward's mouth drooped a little, which gave me a little bit of an idea of whatever it was the Renée and Esme were discussing.

Esme had a smile on her face when she came into the living room to check on Edward and I, "Jasper, you don't mind being alone tomorrow night, do you? Renée are going out on another date tomorrow."

"I doubt that I'll be alone for very long; Edward's promised to help me get ready for my math test that I have coming up. Don't worry about me, you have a good time with Renée."

"You bet I will!"

The rest of the evening proceeded with the normalcy that I had grown accustomed too ever since the Swans had been suddenly inserted into my life. Renée and Esme kept mostly to themselves in the kitchen, while Edward and I took over the living room while I did homework; Edward had, for the most part, ceased doing homework for high school and was mostly recycling old assignments whenever he could. I guess after going through high school for so many years, it gets boring doing the same things over and over again without very much change. Still, he was very helpful with mine.

When the time came for Edward to 'leave', he once again told me to be careful before quickly stealing a kiss from me and then disappearing into the night. I knew he wouldn't take long in coming back; Edward's protective, especially of me, but he's far from being possessive. Esme and Renée chose to stay up a little later to watch a late night movie while I went up to my room. Edward was there waiting for me when I opened the door; he was sprawled across my bed, his eyes closed and his chest rising and falling with the quiet rhythm of his breathing, though we both knew that he didn't need to breathe. I closed the door softly behind me and walked over, climbing onto the bed and curling up next to him.

Automatically his arms came up around me, pulling me tightly to him so that I was in the secure circle of his arms. He gently nuzzled the top of my head and I sighed in contentment.

"Do you feel better now?" I ventured, tilting and moving my head so that I could look up at him.

"Not really, I'm still worried about this because something doesn't feel right, but having you here and knowing that you're safe is helping me greatly." He smiled, his face radiant. "How was your day today?"

"Jess was bugging me for details about our relationship, I think she just wants something good that she could spread around as a good rumor. Or it might be that she wants to twist whatever little thing that she can get out of me into something completely different." I still hadn't gotten over my irritation at her. "Mike's been keeping his distance too, I think you've scared him off for the time being. But that's really all that happened today."

Edward was silent for a moment, pensive, then I ventured, "How was your hunting trip?"

"Fine. Alice and I didn't go very far, close enough that I could rush back if need be, but far enough away that we could find some decent game. Although, I really don't like hunting deer, there's no fun in that." I laughed a little at that, he could talk so nonchalantly about his tastes in blood and his vampiric lifestyle; I'd quit caring about what he was a long time ago.

"What do you prefer?"

"Mountain lion."

"Well, you can't have what you want all the time. And I'm worth it right?"

"I would sacrifice anything to keep you safe." I didn't miss the serious tone to his voice, I knew that he meant every single word of that. We spent the rest of the evening in silence until I finally had to get up to get ready for bed before I crawled back into bed with him and cuddled up to his frozen chest, his arms coming around me to hold me tight. I let my head rest on his chest, reminded again that his heart hadn't beat in over a hundred years, but I didn't care. Instead, I let myself be lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of his breathing.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

The next morning was a beautifully cloudy day, but I was still slow in getting ready for school. Edward found my tired stumbling that morning to be amusing, and he oddly enough helped me to get dressed and packed my backpack for me. I noticed that him sliding a paper bag into my bag, obviously the lunch that Renée had prepared for me. I noticed that there was a bit of a far away look in her eyes as she saw me and Edward off and conversed with Esme at the breakfast table; I could tell that something was up.

Once we were in the Volvo and on the way to school did I ask, "Edward... the vampire that was here... is Renée going to be telling Esme because she's worried that something might happen?"

Silence, Edward's jaw tightened as his hands did on the steering wheel. I didn't miss the tense set to his face; I'd hit the head on the nail with the issue. It took him a few minutes to respond, and it was obvious that he was choosing his words carefully.

"Renée is worried... even with the precautions that we're taking, there's still the chance that they might slip through. If there's more then one, there's the chance they could overpower us, or that there could be openings. She wants Esme to know all of the risks, none of us expected... we didn't think that we would be facing a threat so soon. Renée doesn't want to lose your mother, Jasper; to her, Esme means everything."

"All of the risks?"

"She could die, Jasper."

My breath caught in my throat and I froze up; eyes wide. I'd known that there had always been the chance that I might die, that Esme might die, because of our involvement with the Swans; but I hadn't expected Edward to come out and say it so bluntly. I wasn't so much worried for my own life, but my mother... I didn't want her to die. She didn't - she didn't know...

I took a shaky breath, "And... what would Renée do if that were to happen?" Somehow, I was almost scared of what his answer would be.

"If she can, she'll probably offer to turn her... but if she's too late..." He let the sentence hang, there was no need to finish it; I knew what he meant. Nothing else about it needed to be said, if Renée lost Esme, then she'd follow after her. As for that part on turning her... my stomach gave a weird heave. I had no idea about what to think or say about it. Thinking of my mother as no longer being human... My head spun.

"... how do you think Esme will take it?"

"I can't tell yet. But she seems levelheaded and the type who just might believe it, Renée's explanation will answer quite a few of the unanswered questions that have been floating through her head concerning us and our family. How she will take it though, I can't tell. We will just have to wait and see." He hesitated for a moment, and I could see that there was something else that he wanted to say.

"What else are you thinking about Edward?"

"Esme... she'll probably be upset... do you want me there when she finds out? Or would you rather that you were there alone with just her?"

I was surprised by the question, but I took the time to think it over.

Having Edward there would make me feel much more comfortable and confident, but I had to think about Esme instead of myself. If she was upset and panicky, like I expected her to be, then having Edward there would just aggravate her; I didn't want her to have a panic attack and try to shoot Edward with her handgun, that would just make matters all the worse. Which meant that I would have to confront Esme about this alone, Renée would most likely tell her that I already knew about what they were; that they were vampires. She might feel... a little betrayed. But it didn't change the fact that I had to handle this alone.

"I think... it would be best if I did this alone. But I'd... I'd like it if you were nearby."

Edward nodded, and we both chose to let the subject drop. I didn't want to talk about it or think about it, not until I had to confront Esme about it; I would worry about that later, when the time came.

The rest of the drive to school was routine; we spent it in companionable silence. I couldn't tell what Edward was thinking, but I was thinking about what might happen today. I was worried that there might be another confrontation, and I didn't want to think about how that would turn out. If Mike decided to completely ignore Edward's very clear warnings, then I hated to think of what Jess would say or do when she found out about how he felt about me. I knew that there would probably have to be a time where'd I'd have to talk to him, but that would have to wait until he'd calmed down and gotten over me enough to think rationally.

That wouldn't happen for a while.

Angela met us near the cafeteria, where we talked until the first bell rang at which point Edward walked with the both of us to our first period English class. Jess bounced up to us along the way, fairly bubbling over with gossip which she proceeded to unload onto Angela, who just pretended to listen to her; she nodded and made small affirmative noises every now and then to show that she was paying attention to the gossip somewhat.

The rest of the morning was spent in boring normalcy, and passed just like the day before had mostly. The classes sped past me in a blur and I couldn't quite remember everything that had happened. As the day started to wind to a close, my mind was starting to race about what would happen when Esme returned from her date with Renée. I kept running through possible situations, and none of them were very pleasant; I was consistently thinking about the negative outcomes that were the most likely to happen.

Edward drove me home after Biology, and we were silent again; only this time the silence was tense. We were both nervous about what would happen later tonight. Once we arrived at home, Renée welcomed us back nervously; I could tell that she was worried and distracted. I could only just guess at how she was feeling at that moment, but she seemed distant as she asked if there was anything she could get us. Maybe the feeling that this domestic setting she'd set up here would be shattered once tonight was over; or it might have been that she felt that she might have lost the one person who she loved more then anything.

Once thing was for sure, there was a lot riding on tonight.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Well, there you have it. I actually debated whether or not to continue and put in the confrontation with Esme into this chapter, but I decided at the last minute not too. But it'll still a rather long chapter, word-wise mostly, so I hope that everyone's happy with this. And it's not a filler chapter either; so we're finally getting the plot moving again. I'm hoping that I'll be able to finish the next chapter within the week as well as cram a little more time in to work on my project for NaNoWriMo, but I'm not all that optimistic about it. Makes me sad that my priorities is really screwed up.

But be happy! I actually did better on my most recent Biology unit final! I'm proud of that. And as for updates, again, you can thank Jen for this having been released this month. Now, I have to go and start on the next chapter and do a few other things that I have to get done. I'm being lazy about my Chem homework; I'll probably wind up doing it in Social tomorrow.

Enjoy your chapter.

Twilight.


	18. Chapter 17: Into the Fire

**Notes:** Well, we are pretty much nearing the end of this journey of ours with _Poison_. I'm almost close to finishing this story, and I hope that the rest of you are enjoying this and will continue to like it even as it's completed. Even when it's done, I'll still appreciate comments because the input would be nice for the sequels that are planned for this story. The first one will be announced within the last few chapters of this story.  
**Words:** 4 530 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 17: Into the Fire**

Edward left me in the living room after a brief kiss, neither of us said anything, but we both knew that there was the smallest chance that it could be our last. Neither of us knew how Esme would take the news, but I was prepared for the worst possible scenario, and Edward was too. What scared me the most was how much I was terrified that she would forbid me from ever seeing my vampire love again; that she'd send me right back to Vancouver and Carlisle. Forks had become my home, and I didn't want to leave.

The sound of car tires on cement jerked me out of my melancholy thoughts and back into reality. Esme was home; now was the moment of truth.

I waited, my heart thundering wildly in my chest, for Esme to come in. The kitchen door rasped open, and I heard someone stumbling about; there was a loud crash and the sound of something shattering. But I didn't hear anything else until...

"Jasper?" My heart was still wildly racing; my mother sounded nervous, like a young girl who'd just found out some secret that she knew she shouldn't have. It took all I had to keep the tremor out of my voice.

"I'm in the living room mom!" Even though it didn't shake, my voice sounded strained, I hoped that she didn't notice that. I heard her footsteps coming down the hallway that led from the kitchen, and my fear grew as she got closer; I tried to look like I was focusing on the TV, but I didn't think I was successful.

"Edward's not here?" I was worried; I couldn't tell what her tone of voice meant. For one thing, it was too calm, for another, I couldn't tell if she would snap into an angry, terrified fit, or burst into something more cheerful.

"No, he had to leave. Something about a family emergency," Edward had told me that, and it was half-true. It looked like there was something else she wanted to say, but looked like she was debating whether or not to ask the question. "Mom? You okay?"

She chewed her lip, which I noticed already looked a little torn, and her eyes were watering; mascara had smeared down her cheeks and had given her something that resembled raccoon eyes. I would have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. Finally, she spoke, "Jasper... do you... do you... believe in vampires...?"

Okay, I had **_not_** expected that.

"Why are you asking that mom?" I had to play dumb.

"Um, I just - nevermind why! Do you believe in them or not?!"

This time, I bit my lip, nervous, then I answered, quietly, "... yes."

"Do you... do you think you've ever met one...?" I could tell that my mom was just barely hanging onto her calm, she looked like she'd burst into tears at any moment, if the state of her make-up was anything to go by.

_Of course mom, I'm in love with one._ That wouldn't go over too well, so instead, "I think I have."

Esme slowly, too slowly, walked over to the couch and sank down onto it beside me. I noticed that she didn't look at me, instead, she stared at her hands which she kept fiddling with. Never had I seen my mom act like this; it was like she was coming apart at the seams, and that worried me. Had Renée's true nature really come as that much of a shock to her?

"Oh Jasper..." she murmured. "I know that it's all been done dramatically but I..." She paused, I could see her struggling to find words for whatever it was that she was trying to say. "But I really don't know... is it wrong to love someone that's... that's not human?"

My breath caught in my throat, and unfortunately, Esme noticed when I tensed up suddenly, "Jasper...?"

"I... I know the feeling mom."

"... wha-?"

I took a deep breath; this wasn't how Edward and I had discussed my mother finding out about the fact that, not only did I already know what the Swans were, but that I was still putting my life on the line because I was in love with a vampire. But still, I couldn't keep it too myself anymore, I hated lying.

"Renée told you, didn't she? About what she is, what her family is. I already know mom, what it means to love someone who isn't human; who very well could kill you at any moment if they lose control. I understand that, mom." _I might understand it better then you could ever know._

There was silence. I couldn't bring myself to look at Esme, and instead I stared at my hands which were clenched into fists on my knees. Desperately I wished that Edward was there, but I knew that it probably wasn't the best idea for him to show up after what I'd just declared. When Esme didn't say anything, I continued; might as well get it all off my chest.

"I can't judge you, but mom, just do whatever it is that you feel would make you happy. Isn't that what matters? If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you. I'll still love you, no matter what you love, because I know that you would do the same for me."

My mother's light green eyes were staring back at me, looking for all the world like a lost little child who'd learned something that she really shouldn't have; something that had petrified her. It took her a few long moments to find her voice again.

"You... you've known...? All this... all this time...?" But before I could answer, my mother's eyes rolled up into her head and she started to fall forward. I made to catch her before her head made a rather hard impact against the heavy wood of the coffee table but it wasn't necessary.

I hadn't heard Renée enter, in fact, I hadn't noticed her at all. But she was suddenly there, her strong icy hands and arms wrapped around my mother carefully, holding her to her as she gently picked her up into her arms. One had to marvel at the strength that Renée possessed, as she was able to carry my other so effortlessly; I knew that she could manage her with one arm, even a single hand. Edward had carried me like so often enough, he'd pick me up with a single arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

And just as suddenly, Edward was there, his mouth in a tight line and his eyes were hard. I watched Renée disappear upstairs with Esme, and I knew that, for now at least, that there was nothing else that I could do; my part was over with until later. Now, this was just between my mother and her lover.

So I turned to Edward, and held out my hands to him wordlessly. He hesitated nervously, but then surrendered, kneeling in front of me, his hands taking mine into his.; it was hard to miss how fragile mine seemed in his. I broke the silence, "You heard everything."

"Even though it's... it's not new to me... you still manage to surprise me with everything you do, everything that you say," Edward started, his voice tense. "I always think, and maybe it's a bit of a hope of mine, that you will realize just what a monster I am; and then you'll remove yourself from my life, and I'll be left back at where I was before I met you."

The grip on his hands was tighter then I'd thought, but he let them go when I pulled gently to free them. I took his face in both of my hands, "I'll defend you to the ends of the earth and back again. I mean it when I say that I won't leave you, with you, I feel safe."

Edward leaned into my touch, his eyes closed as he inhaled deeply, "And yet, I can never be quite sure that you are safe with me. I put you in danger simply by being with you like this, because my kind may see you as a liability."

I bit back what I really wanted to say, because I knew that I **_was_** a liability. My humanity put Edward in danger, because I knew that he would do anything to protect me; I knew that his family would be willing to put themselves on the line to keep me safe. All because of what I meant to Edward. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and quickly fought back the pain that settled in my stomach.

"I don't... want to be a liability..." I knew what I was insinuating, and it didn't take Edward much to figure what I meant out. He was immediately on his feet and across the room from me, anger radiating off of him in nearly overpowering waves.

"No. You don't know what you're asking of me Jasper." His voice was tight, tone clipped. I knew that this was a subject that there would be no compromising on, and I was treading in unknown territory.

"Edward, please! Do something, anything that will keep **_you_** safe! If this is about my permission, then fuck that, because I don't care!" I was standing then, too, and I threw myself at him, surprising him. My hands fisted into his shirt, and I buried my face against his chest.

Edward's icy hands were on my shoulders, holding me back from him, "No Jasper. I will not compromise you, your safety, or your life. Please... please understand this..."

"Then you have to promise me something..." I murmured.

"Anything."

"Don't you do something stupid to protect me, the same goes for the rest of your family. I don't like the idea of anyone dying for my sake, and I know that Esme will say the same thing. Even if I'm alive and safe, it's not worth it if you're not with me."

"Jasper..."

"Promise me, this is all I want." _For now, just knowing you'll be safe is good enough._

Suddenly, he pulled me back to his chest tightly, "I promise. But I will sacrifice anything to keep you safe."

I wrapped my arms around him, "As long as it's not your life."

We stayed like that for a long time, until I started to feel the strain of my long day that I'd spent worrying and stressing over. Edward gave a tiny smile when I yawned, and picked me up effortlessly, using one of his arms to hold me as he carried me up the stairs and into my room. He laid me down on the bed, leaning over me, a fire in his eyes that I hadn't seen before as he pressed his cold lips to mine.

The kiss was hard and desperate in nature, and I was surprised at how Edward seemed so... passionate tonight. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down on top of me, I didn't care about his blood lust, or how I was pushing my own luck. I only cared about him.

I fell asleep later that night, exhausted physically and emotionally.

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

My cheek was like ice when I woke up the next morning from using Edward as my own personal pillow. His cold skin had its disadvantages, but I didn't care about waking up feeling like I'd slept with an ice pack. Edward pressed his lips against my temple as a form of greeting that morning, and I smiled up at him sleepily.

"Good morning."

"Mm... morning..." I yawned and snuggled back down against him, unwilling to get up to face a new day. I didn't want to go to school; I'd much rather stay at home and spend my time with Edward instead of hanging around a bunch of gossiping girls who'd like nothing more then to rip me and Edward apart so that they could try and steal the prize.

That prize being Edward.

But I doubted that they could handle him, Edward enigmatic nature and the way that he acts is quite difficult to understand. The shallow high school girl couldn't deal with him, Edward was rather difficult on a good day, and none of them were interested in him for more then his good looks and the boost in their status that being involved with him would grant them.

"Your hair is a mess, but you're beautiful." I blushed, and muttered about how he put me to shame even on a good day for me. He smiled, "Really Jasper, you are beautiful."

"Thanks..."

"Now, you had better hurry up and get ready for school if you intend to get there on time."

I sighed and climbed out of bed, leaving behind my personal vampire who just smiled very invitingly at me, even though I know that he hadn't meant it to be that way. I groaned.

"Edward, don't do that when I'm already unwilling to go to school. You're tempting me."

"Oh? I'm tempting you?" He rose from the bed, his movements graceful like that of a feline, as he stalked me; I backed up into the wall, my eyes never leaving his dark amber ones. I knew that I was the prey, Edward's own personal little lamb, and that he was the lion that was preparing to eat me up.

Though, really, we both knew that he wasn't going to kill me. I had such faith in him that I knew it could be misplaced, but I didn't care. I loved Edward too much to really care about my own life at this point; I knew that I'd give it up in an instant if it meant that he would be safe, that he would be **_alive_**.

His arms were suddenly on either side of my head, and he was leaning in close, his breath ghosting across my face, "Tempting you how, my little lamb?"

"You... you are..." I struggled to piece together a coherent thought, too bad I'd said 'bye bye' to most of my straight thinking when Edward cornered me against the wall. I took a deep breath, "You are making it very difficult for me to want to leave right now..." My cheeks flushed darkly, and then I threw my arms around his neck, crushing myself to his chest as I pressed my lips frantically against his.

One his arms stayed on the wall to keep us upright, while the other one came around to wrap around my waist to keep me pulled to him. His tongue traced my lips, which parted under his command to allow him access. I sighed happily, pulling him down more to my level so that I didn't have to strain myself as much to kiss him back.

When I finally had to pull back for air, I felt boneless and I sagged against Edward. I had to wait for the world to stop spinning around me and for my heart rate and breathing to come back down to normal levels. Edward had a weird, playful grin on his face when I finally did calm down.

"Well, if that's the sort of wake-up that you would prefer, then I have no objections."

"You... are insatiable!" I huffed and dislodged myself from him, hurrying away into the bathroom for long enough to brush my teeth and fix my disaster of a head of hair. One of the outfits that Alice had gifted me was laid out on my bed, and I had an idea of who had left it there for me.

I got dressed in a hurry and rushed down the stairs. I was surprised to find Renée in the kitchen with Edward, who was now wearing fresh clothes, the former of whom looked much more cheerful then she'd been yesterday. Good, that meant that she and Esme had worked something out. I assumed that it was something that I wouldn't be told about, but then again, it was their personal matter, not mine.

Breakfast was an energy bar and a juice box since Edward and I had wasted time that morning, and we were herded quickly out the door by Renée. As always, Edward opened the door to his car for me and I slipped in, energy bar sticking out of my mouth. In a flash that I was getting used to, Edward was already climbing into the driver's side, starting the car, and pulling out smoothly into the street.

"Well, despite your seeming lack of popularity at Forks High, you seem to be making a good number of friends. Even though the young one knows about what we are, he just doesn't want to believe it."

"You mean Jacob."

Edward smiled, "Yes, the little one."

"I think he'll be taller then you at some point, you know."

"Oh, I wouldn't doubt that. He's quite taller then you are, you know."

I rolled my eyes and took a swig a juice and replied sarcastically, "Well thank you so much for that jab at my height, I feel a whole lot better now."

Edward smiled and reached over and ruffled my hair playfully, "You shouldn't be so shy, my little lamb, there is nothing wrong with your height. I think it's perfect."

"Yeah, but your opinion is a little biased, don't you think?"

"Hm, that may be so," his expression was thoughtful, "But your height suits your build perfectly, besides, there are a lot of people who are the same height as you or shorter. It doesn't change how I think of you."

"Good."

I slid my hand down and grabbed his hand, clenching it in mine, Edward automatically interlocked our fingers, bringing our entwined hands up so that he could press his lips against the back of my hand. I'd seen my skin next to his before, but it was still a comparable contrast. Edward was almost as pale as snow, while my alabaster skin tone had more of a human rose tint to it that revealed the difference in our races.

Pulling our hands toward me, I pressed my own lips against his icy hand. Edward smiled at the return of his gesture.

"Ready for another boring day?" I asked.

"Oh no, it's not a boring day with you around Jasper."

"Well very funny there."

**.:-o-:..:-o-:.**

Yet another day was a blur for me, but I distinctly remembered the dark glare that Edward had sent Mike's way when the blond had made a move to come and join our small table of three. I guessed that the guy wasn't too smart, seeing as he couldn't quite take a hint. Really, though, even Angela was starting to get ticked off at Mike.

"I've never seen him act like this before... and Jessica said that he got into a scuffle with you Edward... at least, that's what she told me at least."

"Yeah, Mike was being an idiot and decided that he could interfere with my relationship with Edward, and he managed to royally piss him off," I replied darkly. Edward shot me a dirty look, but didn't say anything.

Angela considered that, "I'm sure that... things will settle down eventually. I mean, I hope that Mike doesn't do anything really stupid that he'll regret later."

"Mike will be fine as long as he doesn't do anything else that Jasper doesn't want," Edward replied coldly. "And he knows that I intend to uphold what I threatened him with."

That seemed to startle Angela, "What did you.... nevermind, I don't think I want to know."

"Yes, that's probably best..."

With that... tense conversation over with, Biology passed without a hitch. I was really starting to miss my AP class back home, because relearning what I had already learned was not fun at all. Edward sat beside me, looking like the perfect, attentive student; but I knew that all of his senses were at their peak. The tense set of his jaw and the hardened look in his eyes told me, as well as the tight grip he had on my hand under the table.

Edward hadn't been kidding when he said that I wouldn't be left alone, he escorted me out of the room and straight to the parking lot once the bell had rung. I spotted Bella in the parking lot, she nodded to Edward when she spotted us, and then she was gone. I blinked; but I wasn't even surprised by the sudden disappearance. Vampires.

Once I safely secured inside the car, Edward climbed into the driver's seat and pulled out of his spot in the parking lot and began the relatively short drive back to my house.

"Esme and Renée are leaving town on Saturday," Edward told. This was new; I hadn't talked to Esme since the night before, but I'd gathered that she had calmed down, and things were back to how they'd been before. At least, that's what I'd **_hoped_** had happened. "Alice sees some visitors coming... but we can't be sure if they're connected to the one who was in your house, but Renée's not willing to take any chances."

"Where are they going?" I asked, curious. I knew that my mother hadn't taken a vacation since that brief trip she had taken with me last summer.

"A safe house, you could say, that we keep in New York. It's an apartment, but she's just taking a precaution."

"And what are you going to be doing about me?" I didn't think that Edward would put me in danger, but I also knew that it could look suspicious if I disappeared over the spring break. Plus, these 'visitors' might get curious and decide to follow either me or Esme.

"I will stick to you like glue until they've left."

I glared back at him, because I knew the implications, "You're not neglecting hunting to protect or watch over me, Edward. If you have to go and hunt, then I'll stay here; Alice or Bella can stay with me if that will make you feel better about not being with me."

"... Jasper..."

"No Edward. I'm putting my foot down."

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, and that evening was quiet too. Esme was giving Edward little glances every now and then, but Edward purposefully kept his eyes on me as I ate dinner; Renée was sitting on the counter, looking absently out the window. Every now and then, her eyes would flicker back to the table and my mother.

Finally, my mother spoke, "Renée, Edward, would you mind giving Jasper and I some time alone?"

Edward nodded, rising from his seat at the table. He kissed me once chastely on the lips before he was gone; Renée, on the other hand, stopped beside Esme, her eyes worried, "We won't be far." Then she, too, was gone.

"Listen Jasper, I..." Her voice faltered. I looked at her, wordlessly trying to show her that she could say whatever it was that was on her mind. "Just... be safe, okay? I'm already feeling guilty about leaving you here, while I go somewhere safe, when there are - be careful."

I blinked once, Esme couldn't get the word 'vampire' out, apparently. I was surprised; I had absolutely no problem with the word, but then I'd had a lot more time to come to terms with what Edward was, what his family was, then Esme. I smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it mom. I'll be fine; I'm not going to be left alone at all while you're gone. Please, just enjoy yourself with Renée." _Take your time, you'll need it because things are going only going to get stranger._

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

For me at least, the rest of the week was boring and uneventful. I guess you could call it the 'calm before the storm' to use the phrase; and in a lot of ways, I had the gut feeling that it would turn out to be true. My stomach was in almost constant butterflies when Friday rolled around.

I was a little surprised when Alice met us outside of Biology on Friday. She was leaning against the door frame, but immediately leapt back to her feet when we came out, and seemingly danced along beside us as we headed for the parking lot. I was surprised by her presence, and even more surprised when I saw that Bella was already waiting there for us; leaning casually against the silver car, her light gold eyes closed and her arms crossed. When we were close enough, she stood up straight and turned to us, her posture completely relaxed.

"I can't believe that you, Charlie, and Emmett are taking off today to go camping," she rolled her eyes for affect, and I looked between the two female vampires; now realizing just why they had stuck around with Edward and I.

Edward stopped, and I found myself now standing between Bella and Alice; and I suddenly felt much taller then I normally did. I think it's because Bella is only about five foot five, and Alice is under five feet tall; in a way, both were too cute. Alice in her pixie-like way, but Bella had a much softer, more mature beauty; even though she dressed the most casual out of her entire family.

"I'd much rather be prepared for our... **_guests_**," Edward replied tightly. "I trust that the two of you can look after Jasper for me while I'm away."

Alice grinned, almost too much like a silly young girl, "Of course Edward. Bella and I will take excellent care of him." He cast her a hard look, it was almost as if he was warning her not to do or say something, which only made me more curious. The exchange between them was silent.

"Don't you dare Alice." He growled at her, whatever was running through her mind obviously upset him. "Don't say anything." And then, he was gone; he'd disappeared into the forest. Bella unlocked the car and climbed into the driver's seat, while Alice and I slid into the back.

Compared to Edward's maniac driving, Bella's driving was the most cautious. Alice tapped her foot against the floor, and said, "You drive soooo slow Bella!"

Bella sighed, "Not all of us drive like a maniac, Alice. Besides, unlike you and Edward; I don't have built in radar." Her driving was smooth and a lot slower, within the legal speed limit. It actually took the usual ten minutes to drive from the high school to my mother's house. Alice climbed out first.

"Esme's still at work, and Renée's keeping an eye on her," Alice replied. "So we'll have the house all to ourselves until they get back. Bella? You'll be okay on your own with Jasper for a while, right? I want to check the perimeter."

She smiled, her eyes warm, "Of course."

The pixie vampire was gone, I stared after her, wide-eyed. Even I was surprised with how fluid and fast they were, even though I'd gotten used to the sudden movements, and the almost disappearance and reappearance that I'd seen Edward do quite often. But I'd never actually seen them **_move_**; they were... like pale blurs.

"Well, we should get inside Jasper," Bella smiled at me; wrapping an arm around mine, pulling me close to her and leading the way inside. I fumbled around a little, before I managed to unlock the front door and let myself and Bella inside. The dark haired vampire shrugged off her plain, dark grey hoodie. All she wore underneath was a black graphic tee, but it fit her well.

I hadn't spent much time around Edward's sisters, so I had no idea how to act around them. This was going to be a long evening.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Well there! The latest chapter done and completed! Hope you all enjoy, this story is coming to an end. But don't worry, this won't be the last that you'll be seeing of me. Promise. And the next chapter should be up between now and and the new year. I'm still hoping that I'll have this story finished before the end of the year, because I have other works that I'd like to work on.

Please leave me a comment!

Twilight.


	19. Chapter 18: Season's Call

**Notes:** First chapter of the new year, huh? I'm going to apologize right now for not having updated this earlier, despite having been working just a bit on the chapter over the break. Um, I'm sorry? But anyways, here's the new chapter, hope you enjoy it.  
**Words:** 5 001 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 18: Season's Call**

Bella scoped out my house the moment we were inside; I caught her looking over the pictures on the walls, some of which I would have to remind Esme to remove even though it was a little too late to protect my pride. While I dumped my backpack onto the couch before going to go and dig up a snack before I tackled the huge stack of homework that awaited me, Bella looked over the school pictures that Esme had lined up on the mantel. I hadn't noticed those, I was so sure that they hadn't been there when I'd arrived here. Esme must have brought them out of hiding at some point.

When Bella turned back around to look at me, I recognized a flicker of sadness that was in her eyes for a moment; but it was gone just as quick as it had been there. She sighed and gestured for me to come sit on the table.

"How easy is it?" Her question surprised me.

I blinked, confused, "How easy is what?"

Her light gold eyes looked over at me for a moment, the emotions in her eyes enigmatic; she was a lot like Edward, and I was thinking that she could possibly be more mysterious then Edward. Bella looked back at the empty fireplace before clarifying, "How easy is it for you to know... know that the one you love isn't human, and that they don't want you to be what they are?"

That startled me.

"I... I don't know really. I haven't put too much thought into actually... becoming one of you; this is the first time that I've ever actually stopped to think about it."

Bella sighed, "Edward is... well, he's hoping for the best despite the rest of us all preparing for the worst case scenario. Deep down he knows that even we can't protect you from everything, and that there are some things about being human that no one can change."

"My death." We weren't talking about my dying right then, or even in the next few days, but the death that would be awaiting me many, many years down the line if things went the way that they should. If I stayed human, and now I was finding that I didn't like that, it would mean that I'd one day be leaving Edward alone; just like he'd been before he had ever met me. It scared me a lot.

"Yes. I don't think that he really... understands how complicated it is to lose someone whom you love so deeply that you would give up anything for."

"You lost someone that you were in love with?"

She was staring at her hands now, "I don't want Edward to know how that feels. We might not share blood, but I love Edward as if he was of my own flesh and blood; I love him as I would my own brother. I don't want him to be seeking the release that I was so desperate to find, that led me to becoming what I am; and I know that he would never again find what he has with you."

"You care a lot about Edward." It was almost enough to make me jealous, but I reminded myself that there was no competition between myself and Bella for Edward. She had Alice, who to her meant everything, I knew that, and I could tell just from looking at her eyes; they were much softer, less harsh, then any other member of her family.

"I do, because I can understand, at least somewhat, what he's gone through. I'm not much older then him, Jasper, in terms of how many years I have been... living this life, you could say." I sucked in a breath sharply; I hadn't heard any other of the Swans' stories, and now, I was apparently being regaled with Bella's. Unconsciously, I sank onto the couch, and waited.

"I was born in March of 1895, to relatively well-off parents in New York. And things... things worked out, and I was very happy; I was engaged shortly after I turned seventeen in March of 1912, and it was to a handsome man by the name of William Mansfield..." her voice trailed off, and she looked up, staring but not really seeming to notice the pictures in front of her.

"I loved him dearly, loved him with all of my human heart. He was from a good family... they were going to immigrate to the U.S. in order for us to get married and for our families to be together when we married... the wedding was planned for that July."

Now it was as if she wasn't even there, her entire body language and her eyes were distant, "But, unfortunately, William was killed in a freak accident one day shortly after our engagement. I, of course, traveled to London in order to attend the funeral... to show that I was a good and proper fiancée who did truly love William. His family was good to me, they even booked me a return passage on board the Titanic herself..."

I couldn't help but gasp. She had been on board the Titanic?! Of all things I'd thought she'd say, that wasn't one of them. My voice failed me. But Bella was into her story too deep to notice me, and she kept plowing onwards.

"I wasn't very careful, the other passengers... I'm sure they knew who I was, what had happened to me. They knew that my fiancée was dead, that I was going home where I would be free to mourn. I hadn't realized that I'd attracted the attention of someone, or something, that **_wasn't_** human; my own human fragility had given him a chance, and he pounced the first moment he got."

Here, her eyes met mine, "Two days before the ship would go down... that was when he chose to strike. When I finally woke up from my... turning, it was the evening of the sinking. It had taken that long for my body to fully accept the change, for me to lose what had made me human and turn me into the same creature that he was. And I hated him for it."

"Do you... regret it? That he... **_changed_** you?"

"At that time? Yes. When I realized what I had become, I wished with everything that I had that this was something that I could reverse. And when the ship was going done, I thought my prayers had been answered. It was only when he found me again... that he told me that the cold wouldn't kill me, that I wouldn't be able to drown like the humans around me, did I realize what I had been condemned to."

"You made it through."

"Yes, it was First Officer Murdoch who pushed me onto one of the last lifeboats on the starboard side... I think that he was the last person I saw who I truly saw as a human. Everyone else on the lifeboat were whiney first-class persons. It wasn't until we'd pulled away from the ship, faster then almost any lifeboat, I'd underestimated my new strength, that they really seemed to realize that the Titanic was sinking. It took all I had to resist... the bloodlust was just nearly too great. But the overpowering stink of their perfumes and colognes took away heavily from the natural human scents, it made it easier to resist."

"Oh, so it's like... the natural scent a human has is the most desirable?"

"Yes. If you've noticed, Edward finds it... sometimes a little difficult to be around you, I'm sure you've noticed when it's hard for him to resist. People find different scents to be appealing, and to Edward, you, Jasper, are the pinnacle of what he finds attractive to smell. Call it what you will, but it's usually the first sign that you've found the 'one' in our world."

I blushed and ducked my head. I didn't like having the attention on me, "How did you find Alice?"

"I didn't. She found me."

Before I could ask her further questions, Alice was there, sliding effortlessly onto the couch beside me. There leaves and other debris from the nearby woods in her hair, to which Bella gave a small smile and slid onto the back of the couch and began to pick it all out of her short dark hair. Apparently, this was when she took over the story.

"Yes. I found her, after she found Charlie... who was looking after a newborn Edward. I was surprised that she and Renée lasted so long without giving into the temptation. I mean, the two of them were on their own for so long that it wouldn't have been a huge lapse of judgement, you could say, for them have accidently fed from one of your kind. Everyone has their slip-ups..."

Bella gave what sounded like a light snort, "Everyone really, but you. You knew all along that you would be part of our family."

Waving her hand in dismissal, Alice shook her head a little and rolled her eyes with mirth, "Oh it's just a little thing I can do... but anyways, I think that Edward and Rosalie are the only two who have 'slipped up'."

"Mm, yes, I think you're right..."

I decided that I wouldn't ask about the 'slipped up' comment, and instead asked, "Who's the newest addition to your family?"

"Oh, Rosalie." They responded at the same time, with the same tone of voice. It was scary. Almost. I pulled my legs up onto the couch and to my chest, wrapping my arms around them; I felt left out, because of how close they seemed, and how alone it made me feel. Watching Bella as she ran her fingers through Alice's now debris cleared hair made me wish that Edward was there, just so that I wouldn't have to feel so lonely.

We spent much of the rest of the evening just quietly talking and watching TV in the living room. Renée was through the door first, coming in through the back window of the small office as I heard Esme's car in the driveway. A quick nod was exchanged between Bella, Alice, and Renée, and then the two female vampires were gone, and I was left completely alone with my mother and her girlfriend.

It wasn't until over dinner that Esme talked to me about her trip to New York, "I'm sorry Jasper... but Renée thinks it's a good idea if it's just me and her who go."

"Don't worry mom, Edward and the others will be sticking to me like glue until it's safe and these 'visitors' have gone. It would probably attract their unwanted attention if both you and I disappear and leave the house empty, Alice thinks it might be a possibility that one of them might decide to track one of us, out of curiosity."

My mother chewed her bottom lip, and Renée took her trembling hand in both of hers as she slid into a chair beside her, "Esme, love, you don't have to worry about Jasper. He'll be perfectly safe, our entire family is focused on keeping him alive. All you need to concentrate on, is what you want to do, and keeping yourself safe." There was a silent plea in her eyes, and I knew how desperate Renée was to keep Esme alive. Just like how I was the most important thing to Edward, Esme was the most important person or thing in the world to Renée. Her love for my mother was so deep, so passionate, it was almost tangible in nature.

I reached out and placed my hands over theirs, and smiled at Esme reassuringly, "Just like Renée said, you need to concentrate on yourself, okay mom? Nothing will happen to me. But I want you to make sure that you keep yourself safe. Please, don't take any risks." If anything happened to Esme because of me... I'd never forgive myself for it.

"I'm your mother, Jasper, it's my job to worry about you." She smiled warily, and I could see the strain of the past few days catching up with her. Her face looked tired, and there were dark circles forming under her eyes; Renée gently massaged her hand, and Esme placed her other hand over the female vampire's, and they shared a very private, loving look.

I smiled, not that they noticed; they were too lost in their own little world. But right before they went to bed, Esme broke away from her vampire, and came over to stand beside me as I started to fill the sink with soapy, warm water.

Turning around to face her, I was about to ask what she wanted, when she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. Shocked, it took me a few moments to respond, but I returned the hug. Trying my best to reassure my mother in the only way I felt that I could. She pulled back, hands on my shoulders and firmly looked me in the eye, "Call me sometime tomorrow, okay? I want to know that you're fine."

"Yeah, alright mom." Esme looked me over closely, something unreadable in her eyes, and then she gave a quick nod before giving me another tight hug.

"Goodnight Jasper, love you."

"Love you too mom." She and Renée disappeared down the hall, and I heard my mother's footsteps going up the stairs and down the upstairs hall before the soft thud of her bedroom door closing behind them. Still a little confused about what had brought about that strange goodnight, I pushed it aside and went back to washing the dishes.

Just as I was stacking the dishes beside the sink, pale hands grasped the dishes and started quickly sorting them out as they were placed back in their proper places. I looked over and was surprised to find Alice there, helping me by putting away the dishes. She smiled warmly at me as I finished up and then emptied the dirty, soapy water from the sink.

"Esme and Renée will be fine tonight." Her eyes were too honest, too... I wasn't sure what was in them, but I didn't trust them. "They'll leave first thing in the morning, around five AM."

"That early?"

"It's over a five hour flight from here to New York, Jasper. And Renée wants to get there before nightfall, while she can safely move about during the day, our 'guests' can't. It's just another safety precaution that she's taking to be absolutely sure that Esme will be safe."

"A big city, getting there in the daytime... she's trying to confuse the scent and keep any potential stalkers from finding out where it is they're heading. New York is a big city, the perfect place to hide in practically plain sight."

"It's a good plan," Alice agreed. "Edward will be back tomorrow morning."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "And there's something that you're not telling me. And I want to know what it is." Trying to look intimidating probably wouldn't work so well, but I was definitely going to try; crossing my arms, I raised an eyebrow at her and tapped my foot against the tiled floor.

"Jasper, really, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." I would have bought that, if it wasn't for the shifty look in her eyes and how they were too wide to be honest. Though, no matter how much I tried to weasel whatever it was out of her, she always answered me in the same way; she successfully managed to wear me down, and I gave up asking.

Turning in for the night, Alice stayed outside my room in the hall; setting herself down in a cross-legged position. Bella took up a place at my window, perching herself on the sill, watching me as I scurried about, getting ready for bed. I changed in the bathroom, coming out wearing a pair of sweats and an old dark gray tee. She smiled at me, "Careful, don't let Alice see or she'll be replacing your pajamas too."

"Are they that bad Bella, dear?!" Alice called out softly.

"Oh no Alice," Bella replied. "They suit Jasper perfectly. And I'm sure that Edward loves them as well, let's not change him too much, okay?"

I could just imagine Alice pouting on the other side of the door, "Hmph. Alright then."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Sleeping in late wasn't something that I usually did, but I appreciated it this one time when I woke up to the feeling of cold lips pressed firmly in a series of kisses along my temple and jaw line. It was a really pleasant way to wake up, especially when I opened my eyes to see a pair of very bright gold eyes in front of me.

"Morning," I slurred out, still half-asleep. I sat up, and smiled, reaching out. "Get over here."

Edward shook his head with a smile and sat down on the bed, pulling me comfortably into his arms, "How was your night, love? Alice and Bella didn't wear you out too much did they?"

"Not at all, it was really nice spending some time with the rest of your family. Especially since Bella and Alice are such good people; Bella told me all kinds of interesting stories." I left out how she'd told me about how she'd been turned. Well, **_sort of_**.

"Really? What kind of stories was she telling you?" Edward shifted a little, settling with his legs stretched out straight across my my bed so that his back could rest against the wall. I was pulled up to him so that I was sitting comfortably in his lap; his arms around me like they almost always were.

I wasn't sure if I was allowed to tell Edward that Bella had told me about her... vampiric creation and 'rebirth', but she hadn't told me explicitly that he wasn't supposed to know. It didn't seem like it could do much damage; tell him I mean, so I spilled, "She told me about how... how she became one of you."

Edward made it hard to tell whether or not that was something I should have said. For a moment, his eyes hardened, but then they cleared up. It was always difficult to keep up sometimes with Edward's moods, they changed so quickly; like they were on fast forward on a cassette tape. He looked out the window at the cloudy and grey sky.

"She did... did she...?" I would have responded, but I don't think that the question was aimed at me. For a few moments, he continued to stare aimlessly out the window, but he then quickly snapped back. "There's a question on your mind, what is it?"

I frowned, trying to figure out how I wanted to word it without setting him off, "She said that it took time... how do you become a vampire? I'm curious." What Bella and I had discussed, about death and my turning, would stay between her and I; there were reasons, ones that only Edward knew, why he wanted me to stay human, and why he wanted to keep me in the dark. As much as I wanted to know why, I knew that I'd have to be patient.

Hard, cold eyes stared into mine, and I met them firmly. I felt it was about time that I knew. Edward sighed, looking back out the window, "It's a... difficult process. You have to know... know when to stop.

"It's not as simple as you think, and it's easier if the blood is weak; meaning that it's easier if the person who you intend to turn is near death. That way, the bloodlust isn't as likely to overtake the vampire. But still, it's very difficult to turn someone... without killing them. I'm beginning to understand the... **_challenges_** that Charlie faced when he turned myself, Rosalie, and Renée."

One of his hands left the small of my back and ran through his hair. His eyes returned to mine, and I could almost see the gears in his head turning as he tried to explain this to me in a way that he felt I'd understand. But also, in a way that wouldn't scare me.

Whatever he found in my eyes or face seemed to reassure him, and he continued, "When we... feed from someone, we're giving ourselves almost entirely over to the thirst. And in those moments, it rules us. It's hard to control it, to fight it back. But when you can overcome it... then you need to weaken the human, weaken the body's defenses to make it easier for the final step in the process..."

My breath caught in my throat, and I stared at him with wide eyes. I hadn't realized that I'd stopped breathing until the burning in my lungs forced me to draw in a ragged breath that sounded a lot like a wheeze. Edward stopped, taking my face in his while I tried to calm my raging heart and remember to breathe normally.

"The human... will need to be fed the vampires blood. That is what instigates the change."

Disgusting as it sounded, it... well it meant that you actually were tangibly attached to the one who turned you. But then again, I'd been expecting (with what I knew of vampires) that it would just a bite and then poof!, a few days later you're a vampire. So of course it was a little more... **_different_** then what I'd thought of.

"And it takes a few days, because...?"

"The body has to accept the change, which means that the basic cells that make up the body have to change into something decidedly not human. As well, the body systems start to fail and give out as they become unneeded. It takes a few days for the process to complete itself, but it's extremely painful."

I nodded, letting my head rest against his collarbone. It was a lot to take in at once, but I'd deal with it. Now that I knew how it was done, I could understand just a little why Edward would be against my turning; he'd expressed multiple times before that the last thing he'd ever want would be to cause me pain. Aside from that, though, I think he didn't like the idea of my becoming one of them because of how he saw himself. That one day in his car was still seared into my memory.

_"I'm a murderer."_

Almost instinctually, I wrapped my arms around his chest tightly and used my grip on him to pull myself closer. That might be how Edward saw himself, but even though I definitely knew it now, it didn't change anything about how I saw him. It was part of him, and I had to accept it. Changed nothing.

Cold lips pressed against the top of my head, and I tipped my head back so that I could look up at him. Edward smiled down at me before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine in a kiss that made my toes curl and my heart pound wildly. I was breathing heavily when he released my mouth, and I felt a little dizzy; but who wouldn't? The guy is an amazing kisser!

"Breakfast time for you." Edward's smile grew just a little, and I rolled my eyes. When I didn't move, he shook his head and chuckled, then took me up in his arms bridle style and carried me down the stairs and into the kitchen. He had to turn sideways to fit down the narrow staircase, but that just made me laugh and I kept my arms around his neck as he carried me. I was comfortable in his arms, and I wasn't too happy when he set me down on one of the kitchen chairs.

It was then that I saw the note and the can of - was that pepper spray?!

"Why is there a can of pepper spray on the kitchen table?!" Edward chuckled as he started to move about in the kitchen, putting something together for breakfast that I hoped was edible. Oh, and wouldn't cause food poisoning.

The note was first, I recognized Esme's handwriting right off. It was a folded piece of paper with my name on it, leaning innocently against the can.

'_Jasper._

__

'Renée told me that there was nothing that you could really do to protect yourself against vampires, but she did say that this could buy you a little time. Not very much, but if Edward can't get to you fast enough, this will buy you some time to put distance between you and your attacker. It won't stop them for long, though, so don't put too much trust in it.

'And... as unlikely as it is, if ever some idiots try to take advantage of you or anything, use this. Please keep this on you at all times, it'll make me feel just a little better. Take good care of yourself, and don't take any risks. If you want to talk to me, all you have to do is call.

_Love you, your mother, Esme._'

And again, that nagging feeling I'd had the day before came back. There was something up with Esme, but I had no idea what it was that had been running through her mind when she'd said goodnight to me the night before. I had no idea what was going on, but I really wanted to know.

"Esme left me... pepper spray."

"Oh yes, I know. Renée told me about it right before they left this morning."

"You were here that early? When did they leave?"

"They left the house around five thirty this morning; right when I arrived. I think that Esme could have used some more sleep though, she needed Renée to help her into the car, and then she just went right back to sleep the moment that her seat belt was buckled."

"That sounds like Esme. She was probably up too late too."

Edward chuckled, "Oh yes, Renée can keep her awake very well."

"Okay! That's something that I don't need to think about Edward!"

In a few minutes, I had a plate of toast with jam in front of me with a glass of milk. Well, Edward couldn't cook like Esme or me, but he wasn't that bad. I mean, he doesn't actually need to eat so it did make sense that he couldn't cook all that well. As I started to eat, Edward perched himself on the side of the table and watched me as I did so.

"Once you're done eating, you'll need to get dressed."

Confused, I swallowed my mouthful of toast, "Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes, we're going to my family's house, there's... apparently someone that Charlie wants me to meet, and since I won't leave you here alone, you will be coming with me."

"Since I'm going with you, I'm guessing that it's not going to be dangerous."

"Have some faith in me and my family, Jasper. Apparently, he came to warn us about these visitors that we've been expecting." Edward frowned and crossed his arms, I finished my breakfast quickly, then went upstairs to get ready for the day.

Meeting new vampires, it's nothing new to me.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

We weren't driving.

"Edward... just how are we getting to your house if we're not driving there?" He grinned at me as I locked the door of the house and joined Edward on the edge of the porch. "Don't look at me like that... you're planning something and I'm not sure if it's a good thing."

"You said you wanted to know more about me, then this is an excellent opportunity to do so," there was an excited and hopeful gleam in Edward's eyes, and I couldn't find it in me to crush whatever it was that was making him look like that.

"Okay, okay. What do you want to show me?"

"You want to see... how we travel?" Now that surprised me. I was curious, I'd never seen Edward or any of his family move, and I'd always attributed it to how fast it was, but now... I was being given a chance to actually experience it?

"Yes, but - Edward?!" He'd grinned when the first word had slipped out my mouth, and I suddenly found myself being slung over Edward's shoulders and back like a backpack. My squawk of a question was ignored, and I just held on for dear life; wrapping my arms tightly around his neck and clamping my legs down tightly around his hips. Whatever was going to happen, it was going to happen **_fast_**.

"Hang on tight. I don't want you to fall off."

"Oh don't worry Edward. I do this all the time." I rolled my eyes to go with my sarcastic statement. Edward chuckled, and then we were flying.

Well, it felt like flying. All of Edward's movements flowed so smoothly that it felt like he was walking, not, well, running. Plunging into the nearby woods, I knew immediately that we were avoiding the town and were taking a more indirect route to his house. The trees blurred by us, in fact, everything we passed was just like a huge blur to me, but Edward definitely could see everything precisely where it was and what was passing us and what was coming at us.

I remembered that when we'd gone to his house before, it had taken us half an hour to get there, but this time, it took us less then ten minutes for us to arrive at the house. Once we broke into the clearing, Edward slowed a little, before stopping completely at the steps which led up to the veranda and the front door. I was deposited back onto my feet, with one of Edward's arms firmly draped around my waist.

"Stay close. Just in case." I nodded.

Opening the door, Edward led me into the house and towards the living room near the grand piano. The cream couch was occupied by the entire Swan family. Alice was perched carefully on the arm closest to Edward and I, with Bella right beside her; Charlie was in the center, with Riley on his other side, but Rosalie was stiffly sitting on her lover's side. All eyes were on us the moment we stepped into the room.

Including the unnerving golden brown, crimson flecked eyes which immediately met mine.

Charlie broke the silence that I wasn't aware was uncomfortable, "This is James."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I think that this chapter is the one that I struggled the most out of all of them to write. I think it's because this story is FINALLY starting to show the ending and its climax. Yes guys, this story does have an ending, and an actual conflict, so I hope that this chapter will make you all very happy. I've already started on the next chapter, because I want to finish this as soon as I can.

Will you guys leave me some pretty reviews? And remember, I am taking requests for drabbles.

Twilight.


	20. Chapter 19: Our Solemn Hour

**Notes:** I'm starting to experience random pains in parts of my body; particularly in my elbows, but it's not too serious, I don't think. It's not going to stop me from writing this, of course. As I said before, this story is going to end within the next three or four chapters. That doesn't mean that the tale is over though, I will be rewriting _New Moon_ too; so this story will have a sequel. So, here is the latest chapter.  
**Words:** 4 682 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 19: Our Solemn Hour**

The new vampire wasn't much taller then I was. He was probably about 5'10 or 5'11, and he had black hair that looked layered. Like all the vampires I'd met, he was pale, and his clothes were casual and nondescript; just a black graphic tee with dark wash jeans and skate shoes. I didn't think he was physically much older then I was too, I estimated his age as somewhere in his late teens to early twenties. Mid-twenties would be pushing it.

It were his eyes that were his defining features, because he was actually incredibly average looking. They were a golden-brown, but with red mixed in; simple flecks in the sea of the actual eye color. His eyes were locked on me for another brief moment, and then they flickered over to Edward. The newcomer shifted his body, moving into a less threatening position; in response, Edward shifted so that he was angled just a little more in front of me.

All of this happened almost too quickly for me to catch it.

Whatever it was that ran through James' mind at that moment must have put Edward at a little more ease, as his tense stance relaxed just a little. But he kept up his protective stance, keeping himself between me and the other vampire. Everyone else, though, seemed much more at ease then Edward did, and even I felt that there wasn't any threat from the other vampire. But then, Edward would always be a little bit overprotective of me. I was human though, making me the most vulnerable one there.

Charlie broke the brief silence, "Edward, James has come to us with some information." He stared very pointedly at Edward, who gave a small nod before pulling me over to the chair on the far side of the couch, farthest away from James, and I was pushed down onto the seat while Edward perched himself on the armrest.

"Please don't let us interrupt, go on," Edward urged; though I knew that he probably already knew whatever it was that James had come here to say.

"You may already be aware, but the... I suppose you could say the coven I belong to is planning on paying you a 'visit'," he began. "My creator isn't a very subtle when it comes to the things that she wants. And she fancies herself as a collector of 'gifts'."

"Were you the one in Jasper's house?" Charlie gestured towards me. James' head snapped around, and he took a small breath, then shook his head.

"No. That wasn't me; we were in the area, and Maria wondered if there were possibly anymore of our kind in the area. She had Victoria investigate, it was probably her who was in the human's residence; she's the one who Maria trusts in the areas of finding humans who may be of interest to her."

"Of interest?"

"As I said earlier, she thinks of herself as a collector of gifts. If there's a human who she thinks has an ability that is unique or could be useful to her, then she pursues them; and she's not used to being thwarted."

"She's coming here, why?"

James leaned against the wall, looking at his feet, "Because she believes that the reason Victoria scented our kind heavily around the house, Maria believes that there's a human there with a very extraordinary talent who's just waiting for her to claim them." Edward growled. "I can see, though, that this is much different then the drive Maria has to staying near a human."

I shifted in the chair so that I was leaning against the arm rest that Edward was occupying, and wrapped my arms around one of his. Under his pale, cold skin the muscles were trembling with how tense they were. I'd already drawn my legs up onto the chair, and I let my head rest on his forearm. There was an almost envious look in James' eyes when he saw that; but he didn't say anything.

"And now this Maria wants Jasper because she thinks he would make an excellent collectable or something?" Bella asked scathingly. James simply nodded.

"Will she be alone?" Riley.

"Victoria will side with her; Laurent I can't be sure of, he's the newest to join the coven."

"And what about you?" This came from Charlie.

"Maria kept me around, using Laurent's talent to draw people to him with his charisma, because I could easily track people. Think of it like a sixth sense, I can get a feel for the one I'm tracking that gives me an edge; Maria kept me on hand because she found that useful when it came to finding humans who disappeared on her," James explained. "She's never treated me too well, though, and I hate her for what she did."

He refused to meet anyone's eyes, and his posture seemed dejected; like if he'd lost someone who was close to him, someone he cared about very much. Then, his head snapped up, and his eyes were angry.

"I'll help you; I don't particularly care about what a human can do, and how that ability will be amplified when they've been turned, but I want revenge. All I ask, is if you get the chance to take her down, I want to be the one to do it."

Charlie seemed to mull it over, and Riley seemed near thrilled with the idea of a fight; Alice was frowning and holding Bella's hand in hers, the latter who looked worriedly over at Edward. It was obvious that this was all riding, really, on Charlie's decision if they were going to accept James' help or not. I was curious, though, about what it was that driving James to do this, and why his eyes looked the way they did.

"Yes, we'll accept your help."

"Alice, Bella, can you take Jasper to my room and look after him for me for a little?" Edward's voice was tight, and it indicated that there would be no argument with him. Bella was at my side, and had pulled me effortlessly into her arms, then we were up the stairs; Alice right at her side. I was deposited on the couch in Edward's room, and Alice locked the door behind us.

"What's this about?!"

Bella sank into the couch beside me, and took my hand in hers; giving it a comforting squeeze, "Edward is a very protective person. There are some things that he'd rather that you not know."

"But he's underestimating you," Alice added. "I can tell, you've already gotten some answers, and you have question to clarify those answers better."

"I didn't hear everything, did I? He obviously said more then what I heard. What did his creator do that's made him so eager to see her destroyed?"

"Edward doesn't want you to know that, he thinks that it will worry you needlessly," Alice explained carefully. Bella rolled her eyes.

"But you don't agree with **_that_**, obviously, because I know that you're going to tell him."

Alice nodded, then sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of us, "Jasper, please understand that for some of us, this life which gives us the strength and the power that we receive can be like a poison. It can corrupt and taint a person, and turn them into something which can be unrecognizable from what they were when they were human.

"This... Maria is such a person. You see, there's a sort of unspoken rule in our world that you have to wait for a person to be above a certain age to turn them; you see, we don't change like a human does. Our minds may mature, but only if we are at the right age. And Maria is not old, in the sense of the body and mind; and that makes her dangerous. She was turned at the age where the world revolves around you, and she believes that she simply has the right to take what she wants, no matter what she has to do to get it."

"And I'm what she wants."

"You've attracted the attention of an entire coven of vampires, from what she knows, and that alone makes her desire to make you one of her own. She doesn't appreciate the challenge, and she will do whatever she has to in order to get her hands on what she desires, no matter how many people she has to hurt or kill to get it."

I inhaled shakily, "And James was one of those people?"

"Yes."

Steadying my breathing, and my now raging heartbeat; but my voice was still quiet and weak, "What did she do?"

"He lost his family and his fiancée to her; all because she felt that his tracking abilities would benefit her." I inhaled sharply; I had been right, he had lost everyone he'd ever cared about to satisfy the whims of a vampire who was terribly selfish. And now, she was coming for me.

"If she was - was willing to go to that length to get him.. then...!" Carlisle, Esme, Emmett. My entire family was in mortal danger, and it was because of me. I was barely aware that I was hyperventilating, and Bella and Alice were trying to calm me down, but it didn't work.

Everything went blurry, then it all went black.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Consciousness was slow to come back to me, but the first thing that I was aware of were voices.

"... no need to worry, he just fainted."

"But Bella, what could have-"

"His family, Edward. His father and cousin, we didn't think this through as well as we thought we did. We couldn't know what it was exactly that Maria was planning until she was close enough for you to know, or until James came forward with the information that he brought. Now, though, we have a better idea of what we're up against."

"Jasper? Jasper can you hear me?"

"Don't worry, Edward, he'll wake up shortly."

Even though I knew that I had to open my eyes at some point, I didn't want to have to face the truth that I was the one who was putting my entire family in danger. But then, I thought about it; there had to be some way for me to protect them. Esme was gone, and as long as there was no evidence that could lead to where she was in New York; and even I didn't know that.

It was still too soon when I finally managed to open my eyes. Edward was leaning over me, holding my hand and smoothing back my hair; his eyes worriedly flicking over my face. When he saw that I was awake, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Edward...?"

"Yes, I'm right here."

"My family... are they going to be safe?"

"Don't worry; Esme is safe in New York with Renée. Your mother is safe." I shook my head. "What's wrong? Is there-"

"Emmett and Carlisle, are they safe?"

Alice gasped, "His records, Edward. They'd have all the information that Maria could need to track down his father and cousin. She killed James' family to get him, what would stop her from doing the same to Jasper's?"

Edward growled, and I knew that Alice was right. Sitting up made me dizzy, but I had to do it. Around me was Bella, Alice, and Edward; the three members of the Swan family who I knew the best. I had an idea, but I knew that Edward would be against it. Alice had made a point; my school records would have details about my family that would put them in danger, could that be fixed?

"Alice, is there any way that you could get those records?"

She grinned maniacally, "Oh, you don't need to ask. I can make sure those records look like they never existed."

I turned back to Edward, "You trust me?"

"Of course. Why are you asking this?"

"Because I have a plan, but you're going to have to trust me." Edward frowned, but nodded. At the most, he'd hear me out, but there was a chance that he wouldn't go through with it; and I would need his help to make sure that this plan worked.

"We need to draw the attention of Maria onto me."

"No! I won't do that!"

"But I'm the one she's after," I replied calmly. "And if we can draw her away for long enough to corner her..."

Bella smiled, "He has a point Edward. Jasper is the target, if we can get Maria to perhaps follow a false trail then we can corner her and take her out. Listen Edward, she'll know the moment she gets here that you would never leave his side, and she'll be able to track you. Take Riley with you, and lead her on a wild goose chase; Alice and I can run him wherever. Once this has been dealt with, you can meet up with him. Rosalie can watch over his cousin, and Charlie can easily slip away to Vancouver to watch over his father."

For a moment, I was worried that Edward wouldn't agree, despite all the danger that he'd be putting himself and maybe me in. But then his shoulders sagged, and he nodded.

"Very well, I can trust the two of you to keep him safe?"

"Of course," Alice inclined her head. "Shall I go pack Jasper's things? He'll be safer here, and Bella can look for a suitable destination where we can hide Jasper."

Edward gave a sharp nod, and then the petite vampire was gone. Bella shot me a small smile before she disappeared too, leaving me and Edward alone in his room. He let out a huge sigh, then, "Sometimes, I wish that you wouldn't be so stubborn."

I grinned back at him, "If I wasn't, then you'd probably have never met me." Edward climbed onto the couch with me, lying down and pulling me with him so that I was half-lying on top of him. I let my arms wrap around his chest, and curled up against him. "Everything will be okay, right?"

All I needed was the reassurance that this would work. Edward wrapped his arms around me tightly and pulled me as close as possible to him. His lips pressed against my temple, "Don't worry about us Jasper, our family is strong and will make it through this. All you need to worry about is keeping yourself safe."

"But I'll spend the entire time I'm away from you worrying over whether or not you're okay. Alice and Bella can keep me safe, but it's you who I'll worry about. And my family..."

"They will be fine. Do not worry about anyone but yourself."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I wasn't surprised that I wasn't allowed to go home. With Maria and her remaining coven so close to arriving, the family wanted to keep me close while they made preparations. Charlie was on the phone with the Forks hospital, explaining the necessity of why he was leaving for a few days to visit a sick family member who lived in Toronto, while Rosalie and Riley argued quietly in the corner. I didn't miss the angry glance that she shot my way.

James was leaning against the wall that bordered near the bottom of the stairs, while Bella and Alice were nowhere to be seen. Bella was still in the house, I knew that much, and Alice was probably either at my house or the school; taking care of everything so that when the time came I would be prepared to run. The paper trail that Alice had pointed out needed to be taken care of; we couldn't leave any clues behind here that could lead to me or any of my family members.

What I wanted to ask was **_when_** Maria and her two other coven members would arrive, because I was wound extremely tight with anxiety and very much in the dark about this entire scheme. I had no idea how one would kill a vampire, and while I did desperately want to know, it wasn't a question that I felt comfortable asking while surrounded by vampires. Especially one who very obviously hated me.

Edward's arm tightened for a moment around me, "Alice is at the opening of the drive; she says that Maria and the others caught her scent and are following her. They'll be here any minute."

A whirl of pale blurs shot out the door, with Edward easily scooping me up and following them. I found myself sandwiched between him and Bella's back; I hadn't even noticed her come down. She was incredibly fast; Alice was there, beside her but closer to me. No one was taking any chances, all of the Swans were grouped around me, the others loosely grouped in front of me.

It didn't take long for the newcomers to arrive in the clearing.

They weren't what I was expecting. The oldest one was male, probably in his late twenties and about six feet tall. He was wearing something that looked a little like it was straight out of a costumed ball, but more modern; his skin was dark, and his irises... they were a disturbing color of red. Next to him was a woman, with reddish-blond hair that fell around her face in untamed waves of curls, and had a very cat-like look to her. Her crimson eyes flickered across each of the Swans, pausing to glare hatefully at James before they landed on me; she gave an unsettling smirk.

Lastly was the leader. She couldn't be much older then about fourteen, and she was pale with straight blond hair pulled back into a bun. Her own eyes were cold, calculating, and they immediately were on me. I felt Edward pull me even more tightly to him, and her eyes narrowed in response.

Automatically, I wrapped my arms around Edward's waist; seeking comfort in the contact. It wasn't so much that I was worried if this would work, it was more that I was actually, for the first time, scared of vampires. Strange, I know, considering how much time I spent around them and how Edward was always trying to enforce on me the concept that he and his family were dangerous. But seeing actual human blood drinkers... it pulled at that chord of fear within me that I hadn't been too aware of until that moment.

It was the girl who spoke first, "I didn't really expect to run into more of our kind here. Much less find that they have some form of... permanency here." Her eyes ran disdainfully over the house behind us.

Charlie was obviously trying to keep up some form of manners, "We don't often get many visitors, just the occasional wanderers. I do have to ask, however, that you refrain from hunting while here; we do need to keep a low profile."

"Oh, of course I understand. Please, let me introduce myself, I am Maria, and my companions are Laurent," she waved her hand in the direction of the man, "and Victoria," she repeated the motion for the woman. "And I can see that you have met James."

He snarled at her, "Drop the act Maria, they know **_why you're here_**."

"And you went and told them?" her pretty face twisted up. "Well, I can see how you want it. This is revenge, yes? I have told you before, James, **_you belong to me_**."

There was silence in the clearing, and Maria and James glared at each other with such hate that if someone stepped between them they'd probably just keel over and die from the force of it. Even with the innocent appearance that she had, Maria's snarled face was the most frightening thing I believed that I would ever see.

Eventually, the glare was broken when Victoria shifted into a crouch; obviously prepared to fight. Maria held her hand out, "Perhaps we can be reasonable, then. Since my fledging," she glared once more at James, "has decided to join you, then I would like the human boy in exchange." Maria smiled in a too sweet way, and I shrunk back against Edward.

"He is with us; you cannot have him." Charlie's tone left no room for argument.

"But surely he cannot be of any use to you; a mere human. I see no mark showing that he is to be turned, so then, why keep him? Is it truly worth your lives?" She shook her head. "No, it cannot. If he does not belong to any of you, then he is just a hindrance, and I will have him. As I said, you get my fledgling, and I get the human; a fair trade, no?"

Edward growled and was in front of me in a protective stance; fingers spread and bent as though he had claws. I couldn't see his face, but I somehow had the feeling that his teeth were bared and he was glaring at Maria as though he could kill her with his eyes alone. The tension in the air ranked up.

Maria's eyes flared with rage, "You pathetic creatures would dare?!" Edward snarled.

The Swans fell into protective stances and positioned themselves closer to me, Charlie spoke, "As I said, he is with us. And since there will be no agreement, I will have to ask you to leave."

For a moment, Maria hesitated; it was clear that she didn't want to leave, I was right where she wanted me (in her sight), but it was clear that she was outnumbered. Victoria's eyes flickered to her leader, she was as tight as a drawn bowstring. Laurent, on the other hand, seemed bored as he surveyed us. If it came to a fight, I wasn't sure if he would fight with them.

"... Victoria, stand down." Maria turned, shooting one more black look our way before she disappeared into the woods; Victoria close on her heels. Edward relaxed his stance a little, but remained protectively in front of me.

"I am... curious about this life you have created for yourselves, but I would rather not fight Maria or Victoria," he began slowly, and I heard the slightest hints of a French accent in his voice. "Would there perhaps be-?"

"There is another coven like ours up in Denali," Charlie answered promptly.

"Then I will take my leave of you; I can see that James has sufficiently warned you of what Maria is capable of. But I will warn you to be careful; she is a great tactician." And then, he too, was gone.

Just as quickly as I had been swept out, Edward's arms were around me again, and everyone raced back into the house. Charlie pressed a keypad on the way in; sealing the windows with huge steel shutters. The door was locked firmly behind us, I saw my duffle on the floor near the stairs.

"Edward?" Charlie asked.

"They've circled around the house, Maria is waiting for nightfall, hoping for the advantage. Her hope is for us to leave him alone, but she's prepared to hunt us down one by one. The other female will help her in any way that she can."

They turned to Alice next, "Our original plan won't work as well as we hoped. We'll have to draw them off in different directions before we're able to run Jasper anywhere."

Edward nodded, "When night falls, I will take James and Riley with me; one of you will have to switch clothes with Jasper, it will confuse the scent for a little, and make Maria more likely to follow us. Rosalie, you go with Charlie and lead the other female as far in the other direction as you can. The moment you lose her, turn back, and head to where Carlisle and Emmett are."

Rosalie's nostrils flared, "Why? Why should my husband put himself in danger for this?! Do you even intend to turn him?! All he's done is bring this... this danger down on our heads! And yet you would gladly risk your life for him?! What reason have I, or the rest of us, to do that?!"

"Rose, Jasper and Edward are together; he is part of this family, and we always protect our family," Charlie's voice was firm and left no room for debate. Rosalie glared at me, and I shrank back behind Edward; terrified of the shrieking beauty in front of me. I had been right all along, Rosalie had never liked me, and I doubted that she would ever accept me.

It was a bit of a hard pill to swallow.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the Swan family working out the details of their plan. Bella eventually disappeared into the kitchen to make me an early dinner, but I was so nervous that I hardly ate anything. My stomach was filled with butterflies and my throat felt constricted; and to top it all off, I was feeling wretched.

I was just a lowly human who happened to have made a vampire fall in love with them. You'd think that it would be a cakewalk from there, but you couldn't be farther from the truth. This entire affair I had with Edward had landed him, his family, and mine into a big pot of boiling water. Not only was my life and his on the line, but so were both of our families; and his was sticking their own lives on the line to protect me. It was a lot of weight to carry, and it was making me feel like the lowest scum there was.

But even all of my self-loathing couldn't erase the fact that I had made my choices knowing full well that it wasn't going to be an easy path to follow. I wasn't about to go back on what I had said before, and this situation... I was helpless and all I was capable of doing was making sure that none of their efforts were in vain. My only job was to be safe, and let them keep me safe.

For me, night came to quickly. When I was younger, I'd loved the night and twilight hours because that was when all of the fantasies I had seemed most real; like there was some chance that they could come true. But now, twilight meant that I would be separated from Edward and I would have no idea of when I would see him again. My heart twisted painfully and then thudded wildly as the time for goodbyes came closer.

It was decided that James would swap clothes with me, as he was the closest to being my height. We slipped upstairs, with me in Edward arms, and quickly changed into each others clothes. James' clothes were too big on me; he was broader in the shoulder and had a good two inches on me; but then, I didn't think it mattered since I probably wouldn't on my feet very much anyways.

We rejoined the others quickly on the main floor, and Charlie was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. He pressed something into my hand, and I grasped onto it and his hand tightly; meeting his golden eyes with my own petrified blue ones. All he did was smile reassuringly at me.

Riley and James were waiting by the door, Edward stopped, putting me down between Alice and Bella. He took my face in both of his hands and tilted it up so that he could see my eyes. My heart was thundering wildly in my chest, and I knew that they all could hear it, and Edward's eyes were nearly heart-breaking in how they swirled with emotion. For a second, we just stood like that, then he pushed his lips against mine forcefully.

It was a brief kiss, one that felt all too desperate to me, and then he pulled away. I watched as his face emptied of all emotion to a blank slate, and then he and the other two were gone out the door.

The tears were streaking down my cheeks, and I sank to my knees. Already feeling the horrible guilt sinking back in, and then Charlie's phone vibrated in his hand, then he and Rosalie were gone; I nearly missed the loathing glare she shot back at me before she disappeared into the night with him.

Nearly half an hour passed before Alice knelt down beside me, and gently helped me to my feet, whisper, "It's time, may I?" I nodded wordlessly as she scooped me up into her tiny arms.

Then, we too disappeared into the darkness of the night.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

It's a little slow in coming, but yes this chapter is done. And since I'll probably feel horribly guilty about leaving everyone with an ending like this, I don't think that it will be too long until the next chapter is up. I may be able to get ANOTHER chapter up before the break is out, but again, it depends on whether the muses decide to cooperate with me or not.

Anyways, I'm tired. So it's bed time for me. Review?

Twilight.


	21. Chapter 20: The Salt Wound Routine

**Notes:** This chapter, just to inform everyone, takes place on the first week of April in 2008. And as well, I did research, and I have found a PERFECT country estate for where this takes place (the site was kind enough to supply me with a floor plan, if anyone's interested I'll include links). Please, enjoy; and before anyone asks, Philip is actually Phil; who was Renée's new husband in the series. Because, I want to include characters from the books, and not create my own. More details in the bottom author's note.  
**Words:** 4 528 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 20: The Salt Wound Routine**

The car ride to Seattle was long and tiring. I had never liked long car rides, and this was probably the longest car ride I had ever taken before in my life. Alice was driving, and Bella sat in the back of the Mercedes with me; holding me to her and offering what comfort she could. I hadn't realized that I was still crying until she started wiping at my face with the tissues from the Kleenex box on the seat beside her.

Of course, it didn't take very long for the stress of the past few hours to catch up with me. We probably hadn't been driving for more then five hours when I drifted off to sleep. Bella gently shook me awake as Alice pulled smoothly into a parking spot in a huge parking garage. Then, Alice was pulling luggage out of the trunk and handing it off to each of us.

I hadn't appreciated how busy the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was until Bella had grabbed my hand once we were inside to prevent me from getting separated from them. Alice was already at the desk, talking with the lady there; Bella and I easily caught up. Our baggage was quickly checked and then we were on our way upstairs for security.

Everything was a huge blur to me, and I didn't come out of the state of being half-awake until Alice pulled me down onto a seat between her and Bella. It was only then that I remembered what Charlie had pushed into my hand; I hadn't given it anymore thought until now. Looking down at it, I realized that it was a slim, black RAZR phone.

Bella placed her hand over it and mine, "One more precaution. In case we get separated." She gave me a comforting smile. I would have cried, but I'd already cried myself out, because of how much she and her family was doing for me. And even I couldn't even begin to understand why they were doing this for me.

"Why? Why are you all... risking your lives for me?"

It was Alice who answered me this time, "Because of what you've given Edward. We're been with him for so many decades, and we have never seen him this happy; and that's what you give him. Jasper, you make him feel like he's almost human; you've given him everything that he has been searching for, though he didn't know, and you are everything he needs.

"And Esme... Esme would be heart-broken if anything were to happen to you, and Renée would never forgive herself for that. But more importantly, you are part of this family now."

"That's right, Jasper. Family looks out for family, and we're not as fragile as you seem to be worrying over. Our family is strong, all we fear is losing you. All of us have come to care for you, in one manner or another."

While it wasn't enough to completely allay my fears about what could possibly happen to them as they tried to keep me alive and eliminate the threat to my life and my family, it did reassure me about my place in their family. Somehow, that made me feel just a little better about all of it. Though, it didn't take away from my fears for any of them at all; most of all for Edward.

Even though I'd been told that I was to only worry about myself, I couldn't help but worry for him and his safety. I wanted him back, and I wanted him back just as perfect and whole as when I had last seen him. Nothing could take away from how much I was worried for him. Edward was everything to me, and I didn't want to lose that.

At the first boarding call, Bella and Alice stood up waited for me, before we quickly joined the line of people who had beat us there. I dimly noted that the plane was heading for London until we were already seated and the flight attendant began the typical safety demonstration and named our flight. I turned to Alice, who had the window seat.

"We're heading to London?" She nodded. "But that's on another continent altogether! Isn't that a little much?"

"It's a good place to lose anyone who may be following us. We will be hiding there until Edward comes for you; we've already bought tickets on another flight to lead anyone astray just in case one of them follow us this far."

"That other one, Laurent, will he-?"

"He didn't deceive us," Bella interrupted.

Alice nodded, "He went to join the Denali coven, he's interested in our way of life."

The flight was long. And I was still exhausted, so I wind up falling asleep and using Alice's cold shoulder as my pillow. In my half-asleep state, I didn't realize that Bella had draped something over me to keep me warm. It wasn't until we were an hour from London that I realized what it was; I recognized the smell.

"This is... Edward's?"

"I thought it would make you feel a little better... it was Edward's idea; he said it would comfort you, knowing that you had something of his that you could touch and hold."

I hugged his jacket to my chest, and silently waited for the plane to land; so much swirling around in me that I was surprised that Bella and Alice couldn't feel how tight I was wound. The rest of the plane ride was stressful, and took far too long in my opinion, but we eventually made it safely to Heathrow Airport. It was early evening, and the sun was still peeking over the horizon. Alice frowned and slid a pair of designer sunglasses over her eyes while Bella took care of the rental care.

"If they track us here, won't this be leaving a paper trail right to us?" I asked her softly. Alice grinned.

"Oh no, as a Swan Jasper, we have access to a lot of things... if we had been caught for the number of crimes we have committed in the information and forged documents world, we would have a rap sheet longer then you are tall."

"She's using a false identity?" I was shocked.

"Yes, we keep a few of these handy to make sure that we can't be traced if we ever need to go into hiding. It just so happens that this happened, so they are being put to very good use; Renée's apartment in New York is registered under another name, as is the car there. I assure you, we have left nothing to chance. If they do follow us here, the trail will lead them to The Netherlands."

"What about the scent?"

"That's the advantage to traveling through such a busy airport, it should at least cover up our scents long enough for them to fade. It's very hard, you see, to track someone through a busy area; keeping track of the one scent that you want to follow takes the skill of a consummate or very skilled tracker. Neither of which are Maria or Victoria."

"So you're hoping that they'll be deterred by the sheer multitude of smells."

"Precisely."

When Bella trotted over, smiling, we stood up, "There, the car will be brought around. And yes, Alice, I did ask for a nice expensive one that you can drive at insane speeds once we're out of the city limits."

This made me wonder, "Um, Alice? Bella? Where exactly are we going?"

"Oh, Charlie owns a rather nice estate outside of the London limits. It was a gift from Renée; because he did give her that penthouse apartment in New York." I gasped.

"How many houses do you all have?" I was shocked; I'd figured that they were rich, they'd been alive for how long and didn't have the same needs as humans did. I mean, they didn't need to eat, for one. I supposed that saved them a lot of money, plus, they were all very old; which meant that they'd had decades or hundreds of years to build up their wealth. I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was.

"Well, we have our primary residence in Forks," Alice was saying as we walked out of the airport and to the car. Alice climbed into the front seat, the door of which the man held open for her. Bella let me climb into the back, before she climbed into the passenger side. Once we were in, Alice continued. "And then we each have our own places tucked away in various corners of the world. This one is Charlie's."

"Oh... then where are the rest of your guys' places?" I was desperate for a conversation; a distraction.

"Bella and I have a chateau in Southern France; and Rosalie and Riley have a small island just off the coast of Brazil. Then Renée has her penthouse in New York, and Charlie has this estate. Oh, and then there's that present that Charlie is planning to give Edward and you..."

"That's not necessary... I mean...!"

"No, no," Bella hurried to explain further. "Charlie was planning on this for years; he wanted to surprise Edward when he finally found that **_someone_**. So don't panic or anything, Jasper, this is one way for us to welcome you into the family. And besides, Edward is the only one of us who doesn't have that one place that belongs just to him; it's a place where he can take you, perhaps, for a holiday for just the two of you or for anything else. A place for you two to be alone."

I couldn't help but color, and I drew Edward's jacket tightly around myself to surround me with his smell. I missed him already, but it wasn't like I was drowning or lost under a wave of depression; it was just feeling lonely after having to say goodbye to someone who you loved very deeply. I sighed heavily, and looked out the window as the city, and then the English countryside, flew by.

"So? Where is it?"

"That takes the surprise out of it!" Alice told me, smiling.

"Maybe, but I'd feel better if I knew what it was that Charlie is planning on giving Edward and, I guess, me. I don't want him spending a fortune..."

"It's a little late for that."

"WHAT?!"

"Well... it's not as bad as you think."

"That just told me everything Alice, what did he get?"

"It's a... retreat. A country retreat, in Romania." I raised an eyebrow; that was a little... ironic.

"Romania?"

"Yes, Charlie had his eye on it for a while; but he was looking at a few other places. There was that townhouse in Venice that he was looking at, and that chateau in France. Oh, and then there's that really nice vacation house out in the Maritimes in Canada..." Alice listed off the places that Charlie had been looking into. I was shocked; all of these places sounded incredibly expensive, and I couldn't help but find myself feeling embarrassed that any of them would consider spending so much money on me.

"So he bought Edward... a country retreat... in Romania?" I was still having problems wrapping my mind around the entire thing.

"Yes," Bella replied. "Which reminds me, when is your birthday Jasper?"

"Um, it's June 18."

"Really? And you're going to turn... eighteen right?" Alice inquired.

"Yes, why are you so curious about my birthday?"

Bella explained, "For one, we haven't celebrated a birthday since my own in 1920. Besides, won't you let us spoil you for that one day a year?"

"No spoiling me, please. I can't take advantage of any of you like that."

"It's not taking advantage of us, I swear," Alice replied quickly as she pulled off the main highway and onto a narrow side road. "And it's only one day, so no arguing; or else I'll drag you on shopping trips every weekend."

"No! Please not that!" I despise shopping for clothes, or shoes, and I didn't want Alice to be constantly spending a small fortune on me. She had already practically replaced everything in my wardrobe so that it cost about three times as much as it had before; and I didn't want to be taking advantage of them. If it would only be that one day, then I would deal with it. "Fine, just my birthday though."

"Excellent," Alice chimed, and Bella smiled sympathetically at me.

"Sorry about that Jasper."

"No, I figure it's easier to give Alice what she wants in this case then it is for me to fight her on it, because I know she'll win."

"Good thinking Jasper," Alice seemed much too cheerful about what the small victory that I'd granted her. The rest of the trip was silent, and I wasn't sure if that boded well for me or not; I had the distinct feeling that Alice was plotting something already for what she wanted to gift me for my birthday. Bella was humming as she flipped through a flexible plastic CD carrier; before she pulled one out and slid it into the car's stereo.

The sounds of soft music filled the car, and I was able to place the artist. It was one that I knew Esme liked, A Fine Frenzy. I was... a little surprised that Bella listened to her, but then again, she was over a hundred years old, it wasn't very probable that she'd listen to trashy pop or rap music. The sound was familiar, and lulled me into a state of calm that I hadn't felt since two days ago. Humming along, I watched aimlessly as the scenery sped by.

"Ah, here we are." Alice broke the silence.

I looked up, and my mouth dropped wide open.

It was old, like eighteenth or nineteenth century old, made of old stone; maybe limestone, and it was a sprawling place. I couldn't tell how big the grounds actually were, but the gardens that I could see were perfectly manicured and taken care of. Alice pulled up to the staircase which led up to the main entrance of the estate, and cut the engine.

An elderly man was waiting, he opened the passenger door, helping Bella out as Alice climbed out of the other side. Both young women smiled at him, then he flipped the switch on the front seat which sent it forward, and helped me out from the car as well.

"Welcome miss Swan, miss Weatherford," he greeted warmly. I noticed that his eyes were a warm, slightly clouded shade of gold. He smiled at me, "And this must be mister Whitlock, am I right?"

"Uh, yeah. Hi, it's nice to meet you," I held my hand out and he took it in mine; I could feel the coldness of his hands through the white gloves he wore. How many vampires were the Swan family involved with?

"It really is a pleasure to meet young Master Swan's love. I am Philip Dwyer, and I work here as the butler," he released my hand and bowed to us briefly but deeply, and then turned towards the house. "Please follow me, I have prepared some tea and dinner will be served promptly at eight. Do not worry, I will take care of your luggage."

"Thank you, Philip," Bella said. "My apologies for us not coming out as often as we used too."

He smiled at her, "That will not be necessary, miss Swan. You do know how I am, I prefer my solitude, but thank you none the less."

We were escorted into a incredibly well-furnished drawing room, with a pot of tea and mugs waiting for us. Philip bowed to us once more before he disappeared to complete his necessary duties. I turned back to the two female vampires who were already seating on the plush, carved wooden chairs and chaise; Alice was pouring out tea and preparing it, while Bella was looking out at the twilight covered grounds.

"You employ a vampire as a butler?"

"Oh yes," Alice replied. "Philip found Charlie back in the nineteenth century, he was wary of the life he had been leading before. It was Marcus, wasn't it who mentioned Charlie and his unique way of living to him, correct?"

Bella smiled at her as she accepted the cup of tea, "You know the story as well as I do Alice. And yes, it was Marcus who told him. It wasn't until Renée gave Charlie this place that he was able to give Philip a place to belong."

"So... why is he here?"

"This place is in the middle of nowhere, Jasper, it's perfect for one of us to hide out; no one asks questions. And to many, one elderly man looks precisely like the next. It's been easy for him to slip through people's minds without changing himself too much. And besides, Philip has always been a very private individual, and he is very large appreciator of history."

"And he works here as a butler?"

Alice nodded, gesturing for me to join them; I hesitated for a moment, then took a seat on one of the old couches and accepted the cup of tea that she handed me. I took a small sip, surprised that she knew how I liked it; with just a little sugar.

"Yes, of course, Charlie has offered to pay him for his work; but he refuses, only accepting enough to keep this place as perfect and clean as it has always been."

"I know this is odd, but does this place have a name?"

"Of course, almost all of these old places have names. This one in particular is Doddington Hall," Bella explained. "It was built in 1872, and has been in our family since about... when was it? Oh, I think about 1930; which means it has been Charlie's for seventy-eight years now."

"That's quite a long time... and it's a really amazing property, I'd like to look around tomorrow..." I was a little nervous about getting lost, but I was hoping that it wouldn't be too complicated a layout.

Philip rejoined us, "I have prepared your bedroom on the first floor, the same as always, correct? And I have set young Master Whitlock in the bedroom at the end of the hall on the first floor, I hope that this is all to your liking."

"Oh, of course," Bella replied. "Thank you so much Phillip, and you have our apologies for us coming here at such short notice."

"It is nothing, miss Swan, I am always prepared for Master Charles and his family." The dated titles, but more the usage of them confused me. "And if young Master Whitlock would like, I would be honored to give him a tour of the premises tomorrow. Is that to your liking?" He turned to me when he asked that.

I nodded, uncomfortable with the formalities, "Yeah, I'd like that." He nodded and bowed.

"Is there anything else that I can get you before dinner?"

"Oh no, I think we're fine, but thank you Philip." He bowed in farewell, and then left. I turned back to Bella and Alice, who were watching me closely.

"We'll only be here, hopefully for a few days," Bella told me. "And you shouldn't worry, Jasper, it's unlikely that they'll find us here. But please, keep that cell phone that Charlie gave you on you at all times, okay?"

"Yes, don't worry about it. I'll keep it on me at all times." Then a thought occurred to me. "Wait, do you actually **_have_** beds here?"

"Of course, we might not sleep, but they're very useful for **_other_** activities..." Alice grinned, and I was suddenly very aware of how bright red my face had just turned. Oh wow. There were some things about Edward's adoptive sisters that I didn't need to know about; their sex life was one of them.

"Alice!" Bella had the decency to look scandalized. "If it makes you feel more comfortable, Jasper, we can have you moved to the second floor."

"How many floors are there?"

"Well, there's the ground floor, which is where all of the public rooms are," Alice explained. "And then you have the first floor, where the master bedroom is as well as several bathrooms and bedrooms; and then you have the second floor, which Charlie practically gifted to Edward."

"Why is Edward the only one with an entire floor to himself?"

Bella smiled, "How about after dinner I show you?" I nodded, eager to see the floor that my boyfriend lived in whenever they were here. I was curious, because I was hoping that I'd be learning more about him, even without him being there.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Dinner wasn't a complicated or fancy affair; it was a simple steak, corn, and mashed potatoes affair, with an assortment of offered drinks. I felt self-conscious because I was the only one present who was eating; both Bella and Alice just sat across from me at the dining room table quietly talking with each other.

Once Philip had collected the dirtied dishes, he disappeared into the largest kitchen; the only one that was still a kitchen, I learned. Bella kept her promise to me, and took my hand before leading me back out into the hall and up one flight of stairs. The room she shared with Alice was right off the stairs, and the room which I had been assigned was just down the hall from that; with a bathroom right beside it. I was amazed at how elegant everything was. Then, Bella led me up yet another flight of stairs to the next floor.

Edward had taken the largest bedroom on that floor, which was right off the stairs on the left hand side. The only bathroom on that floor was to the right of that; with another three bedrooms on the floor, I thought that at least one of them would be another actual bedroom; I was wrong. The two rooms in the middle of the floor had been remodeled, the one on the right was a study, and the one on the left was filled with books and old records; it looked like a library, but with no seating, but it had a nice fireplace.

The last two rooms were off of each other. The one that faced out to the front of the house had been a billiard room at one point, but it had been changed into a "music room" as Bella described it; and I could see why. A grand piano had been wheeled onto a small, raised platform and tucked a little into an alcove in the room, while white leather couches were nicely arranged around it and the fire place along the opposite wall. One cushioned bench had been pushed up against the wall which faced out onto the front, and tables were placed throughout; the smell of freesia permeated the room, and I saw a few bouquets placed strategically around the room.

Bella had saved the last bedroom in the back corner of the house; it was off the music room, and it had been changed into a very comfortable sitting room. All in all, I found the entire floor was a lot like Edward's room back at their Forks home; only spread out across five rooms (I excluded the bathroom).

All of the rooms had been painted warm, rich red and browns, and the furniture was all made from rich colored leathers or fabrics; it was surprisingly more modern then the first two floors. But that suited Edward just fine, and I found that I really liked it. It might not have been what you'd expect with this house, but it definitely suited the English countryside. I looked out the back window of the sitting room onto the back gardens.

I couldn't really see anything because it was dark out, but I had tomorrow's tour with Philip to look forward too. Bella looked at me, and asked, "Well? Would you rather stay up here or stay on the first floor with Alice and I?"

"Which is easier for you?"

Bella smiled, "I won't lie to you Jasper, but it would be easier for us to keep an eye on you if you were on the first floor, but I think that you'd be happier up here." I blushed; Edward's smell was strongest up here, and that offered some comfort to me. She looked at me knowingly, "I'll move your stuff up here to Edward's room then."

I was left alone in the sitting room. Sighing, I opened the back window, letting in the cool, night air, and inhaled deeply. I could smell the faint aromas of the plants which had already started to flower and bloom, soaking the air with their scents. It was an incredibly pleasant and nice feeling. I sighed, content, even though my love was on another continent, risking his life to save mine.

There was something about the smell of night air in the country that set even the most worried and nervous people at ease; it also probably helped that I was exhausted. In the distance, I could hear a few birds chirping, but it added to the calming atmosphere. Feeling relaxed and tired, I must have dozed a little, because Bella shook me awake later.

"Come on Jasper, you should get some rest." She helped me to the bedroom, and then left me. I changed into my pajamas and climbed into the bed. Alice and her poked their heads in just as I was falling asleep; deeply inhaling the lingering smell of my love that was locked in their depths.

"Goodnight Jasper." They said that in sync, their voices sounding like bells. I gave a weary smile, and mumbled out a goodnight; alright half in dreamland.

For me, it was a restless night. My dreams tormented me with horrible 'what if's, and I woke up several times in the early hours of the morning; and it was only then that I realized just how much I missed Edward, and how much I wished he was there. The nightmares were getting to me.

And it would only get worse from there.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

This is getting more and more complicated. Anyways, the Poison Master List will be updated; because I'll definitely be adding more stuff for the curious fans or ones who want to see what is new with the universe. I think at some point I'll have to start making differentiations and a new list that will detail everything for the universe and provide links to the different installments.

Would anyone be interested in seeing character biographies of the different characters? I would be willing to put these together and posting them onto my LiveJournal for those who are interested. If you are, please tell me, and I'll do so. As well, if you have chapters or parts that you'd like seen or written, whether these are seen or not in the actual fic, from another character's point of view, tell me as well.

Oh, and Doddington Hall is an actualy country estate in England that is currently for sale. Since I'm using it as a set piece, I'll have an entry detailing it as well; and this will include the floor plan that I found on the site. I'll photo shop it a little, so that it will detail precisely what room is what room. If there is anything else that you would like me to give more information on, then please tell me in a review, and I will immediately do so.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review or comment.

Twilight.


	22. Chapter 21: Waiting Game

**Notes:** Greatest apologies for how long this chapter took for me to finish it. But I stayed up to finish it in a single night for your reading pleasure. Noting that now only a single chapter and the epilogue remain, this story is almost over, but there will be a sequel, so none of you need worry about finding out how Edward and Jasper's tale ends. I have plans, and there will be more from me of course in the mean time.  
**Words:** 4 202 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 21: Waiting Game**

For one thing, I was jet-lagged, which meant that I wound up crashing that night and sleeping in until past noon the next day. The dreams that had plagued me all through the night and kept me from getting any really restful sleep were still in my mind when I finally decide that it was time that I should get up.

There was a tray on the small table at the end of the bed, and beside it was a note with two numbers scribbled on it. Crawling to the end of the bed, I swiped the note off the tray.

'_Jasper, don't worry about the fact that myself and Philip are gone. Philip went to return the rental car, and I have just gone to do a little shopping and checking in with the others; Bella is still in the house, so you're not alone. If anything happens that separates you from her, call me at this number. Alice._'

The cell phone which Charlie had pressed into my hand before we'd left was sitting innocently on the bedside table, plugged in so that it would charge. I was alone on the third floor, with no idea where Bella was, but she was probably either downstairs in her and Alice's room (and I wasn't about to venture there), or somewhere else in the house or on the grounds.

After finishing breakfast, I wasn't sure what to do with the tray, so I left it on the table at the end of the bed. Climbing out of bed, the duffle which Alice had packed for me was sitting on the floor near the fireplace. I quickly changed out of my pajamas and pulled on a simple T-shirt and jeans, and because I was a little cold, I pulled on a hoodie too.

I picked up the cell off the bedside table, and made sure that it was on before I tucked it into the front pocket of my jeans. My hope was that we'd hear from the others today, because I was starting to get worried about all of them; to me, no news was bad news. It could mean that something had gone wrong that they didn't want me to know or worry about. And if anything had happened to my family...

The entire house was silent when I chose to go downstairs to have a better look around. I skipped the first floor and went straight down to the ground floor. The main floor was comprised of an unused smaller kitchen, the larger kitchen which was used, and several sitting rooms scattered around. After I came out of the dining room which we'd used the night before, I decided to head into the lounge and library which was just off the main hallway.

Several chairs and couches were arranged around the fireplace, with a large rug in front of the fireplace, as well as end tables complete with lamps. There was no overhead lighting.

Browsing through the high shelves, I started trying to find a book which I could use to distract myself from the worry I felt gnawing in my stomach. Just as I reached the back of one of the long shelves of bookcases, the cell went off.

Quickly, I pulled the cell out of my pocket, hands trembling, and I had to try twice before I successfully flipped it open.

"Hello?" My voice sounded strained, panicky.

"Oh thank God..."

I was so shocked, that I collapsed to my knees and felt like I desperately wanted to cry with relief, "Edward...?" Somehow, I still needed some verbal confirmation that it was him, even though I would know that voice anywhere.

"Yes, it's me. I'm so sorry Jasper, but Maria picked up on our plan and she's gone back. We're not sure where she's headed, but Alice saw her regrouping with Victoria in Forks. We think they're going to try and pick up your trail."

"Carlisle? Emmett?"

"They're both fine. We've taken care of anything that may from you to them, but Charlie and Rosalie are with them just to be on the side of caution. You don't need to worry about them, we'll make sure that they stay safe." I let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"And Esme?"

"She's fine as well. Renée and her are still safely hidden, but Renée is prepared to leave quickly in case anything goes wrong. Esme hopes that you're well, and she told Charlie to pass along a message to you."

"That is...?"

"'Take care'."

I felt a sharp pressure behind my eyes, and I knew that I was probably going to cry. But I had to hold on, at least until I was alone again, because I just couldn't worry Edward like that while he was so preoccupied with keeping me alive. If Edward thought that I was panicked, in danger, or just very worried, then there was the chance that he'd come racing to make sure that I was fine. And I couldn't let that happen; it would be jeopardizing everything and everyone who had worked so hard to keep me safe.

"Tell Esme to be careful too. I miss her."

"I can give you the number, and you can call her." Edward was quick to give me the number, and I jotted it down onto a small pad of Post-Its that I found in the bedside table drawer. Thanking Edward, I knew that I should hang up, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Edward?"

"Yes Jasper?"

"I miss you."

He let out a heavy breath, "I do as well. But I can't come to you, because I know that if I do, I would be putting you at risk, and that I can't stand for. Please, just wait a little longer; I will make you safe."

I bit my lip and nodded, even though I knew that he couldn't see me, "I know... just... just be safe, okay? I love you; I don't want to ever lose you. I don't care if I'm hurt, as long as you're okay, then I'll be fine. No matter what happens to me."

The phone beeped once.

Edward had heard it, "I think you have a call waiting." I bit my lip; I didn't want to hang up on Edward. "Don't worry, I'll call you later. I love you, be safe." The line went dead.

Hitting the button to take the call, I put the phone back to my ear, "Hello?"

"Jasper?! Oh my god! Jasper you have to-" Esme's panicked voice told me that something was horribly wrong.

"Ah, so this is the right number."

That one cold, cruel voice sent chills down my spine, and I knew that something had gone wrong; there'd been a miscalculation. Somehow, my mother had fallen into their hands. Everything was lost; they had us both trapped.

"Very good then." It wasn't Maria's voice, it was too deep, too... feminine. It had none of the girlish trill to it that I remembered. Then this was...

"Victoria."

"You remember my name. Excellent, this won't take too long then. You know what we want, and if you cooperate, then your mother will not have to suffer too much."

"What do you want?" I heard the door thrown open, and glanced over. Bella stood in the doorway, her hair a mess and her face a look of panic.

Victoria must have heard the sound, because her voice dropped; so soft that I almost couldn't hear it. I had to strain my ears in order to hear what she said next, "You're not alone, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Hm, this makes things... complicated." There was a brief silence. "Well, they will try to hide you again. At the very least, I can get Maria close enough to get to you. They'll run you somewhere else."

"Yes."

"This is difficult, but I know..." I could almost imagine the sinister smile blooming across her face as she debated how my fate would be decided. "At Heathrow airport... could you get away from your vampire watchdogs?"

"No."

"How... disappointing." Her voice was venomous, she clearly was not happy. I heard my mother's panicked pleas and shrieks from the background, along with Renée's impassioned pleas. Victoria was holding Esme hostage, and Renée was powerless to do anything to stop her from hurting her; I knew that the only way that I could make sure that my mother stayed safe, was to give myself to Victoria and Maria.

"If I told you that your mother would die if you didn't, would that change anything?"

"... yes."

Bella was at my side, her hands trembling as she reached for me. Her cold fingers curled around my wrist, then around my hand. She knew that something was wrong; Alice had probably called her with news. We couldn't stay here any longer.

"Very good. Maria should be there shortly, when you reach Heathrow airport, lose the vampires. Make your way to where cars pick up arrivals, there will be a car waiting there for you; ask no more questions. You will be expected."

Once more, the line went dead.

I was frozen, and the phone stayed in my hand. Bella gently pried it from my fingers and closed it, before tucking it safely back into the pocket of my jeans. For a moment, she just held me, then pulled me to my feet. Completely numb, I was barely aware that Bella was pulling my hoodie on, and then my shoes. Not even when she pulled me into her cold arms and was racing down the stairs and out the door did I break out of the cold stupor which I'd settled into.

All I knew was that I was painfully aware of how I was going to betray all of them. The entire Swan family had dedicated themselves to keeping me and my family safe from these vampires who were so desperate to have me, and I was throwing their efforts away. A deep hole of guilt was ripping into my chest where my heart was.

Bella had me strapped into one of the most expensive cars I'd seen, and then she was suddenly in the driver's seat; revving the car to life. I was startled out of my state by the loud noise of the car engine.

"Where are we-"

"Edward's coming to take you somewhere, somewhere where Victoria and Maria can't find you. This is much worse then we thought... they're smarter then we thought. And Angela-"

"Angela?!"

"Victoria used her, but she's unharmed. Angela is fine, but Victoria found out where Esme was from her; at least, that she was in New York..."

"And?"

"We don't know... Alice didn't see that part... even when she concentrates, sometimes things slip through." Bella's driving now was maniac; even worse then Edward's. We were going close to two hundred miles an hour.

It took us barely half the time to reach London, and then we were speeding our way towards Heathrow. I had not much longer to live; soon I'd either be dead, or becoming one of the undead. It should have terrified me, but I was feeling oddly calm. I knew that everything would end one of two ways, because there was no way that Edward would ever reach me in time.

This would either end with my death, or my being turned. There was no third option. Edward couldn't reach me before Maria had her hands on me.

Bella rushed me into Heathrow airport, the car forgotten outside. Dimly, I saw Philip nod to her quickly, and then he was sliding into the driver's seat. She pulled me into the lounge where we could wait for the arrivals, and Alice was nowhere to be seen. That wasn't good; I needed to know where she was or I'd never be able to get away. It didn't help that I had no idea of how I was going to pull this off.

Luck seemed to be with me, because Alice was at our side shortly thereafter. Now I had a chance of sneaking away, but I still had no idea. I wasn't familiar with the layout of the airport, and it was more then likely that I'd get lost while trying to find my way to where I was supposed to meet that driver.

But I had time, I could still plan.

There was still some time.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I had a plan. It was risky, but I had to make it work; my mother's life was on the line.

There was one place that they couldn't follow me, and it was the one place that I could escape from if I was lucky enough. Now, I just needed to put this plan into action.

"Could I... go to the bathroom?" I looked pleadingly at them; they exchanged a quick look before nodding. Bella stood up, obviously she was going to accompany me. Which was good, if it was Alice, then I didn't think that my plan would've worked. It had to Bella who I would have to lose. I just hoped that she hadn't seen through my deception. Though, technically, it wasn't a lie. I did need to go to the bathroom, just not in the sense that many associate with it. I needed to go so that I could escape.

I opened the men's room door and slipped inside. I was in luck, there was no one there. On the other side of the bathroom was an emergency exit; I wasn't worried if there was an alarm. I just saw a way out.

Running, I shoved the door open and immediately almost fell down the stairs. The door exited out onto another terminal. Good, it would confuse the scent. Over the heads of the crowd I could see the exit that I needed. Racing, I could feel my heart thundering wildly in my chest and my ragged breathing.

My heartbeats were numbered, my breaths were straining towards an end.

Shoving my way through the crowd, I ignored the angry outbursts at my rough treatment of the people surging through the airport, but I had no time for apologies. I had somewhere that I needed to be, and I couldn't let anyone stop me or slow me down; Esme's life was in the balance.

I couldn't let her die. Not when she had Renée, not when it was within my power, however measly it was, to keep her living. I'd be breaking Edward's heart, but I had to do this, if it would keep him safe, if it would save Esme, then I'd be glad to forfeit my life.

Because, I was determined that I wouldn't become one of them, not when Maria would be the one who'd turn me. I'd force her hand if I had too; she wouldn't have me, she'd have to kill me. I'd accept death gladly.

Outside, the air was crisply cool. I looked around. There was a man in a suit standing next to a plain black car, he saw me and waved me over. My ride to my death awaited me. I slowed my manic pace and walked towards him. The back seat door was opened for me, and I climbed in. It shut with a certain finality behind me.

I was in luck; there was a black screen between the back seat and the front; I had some form of privacy. It helped in knowing that I was sure that this man wasn't a vampire, he was just an ordinary human who had been contracted into helping Maria in orchestrating my kidnapping and death.

Shakily, I took out the phone. This would be my last call.

Using redial, I called Edward's cell.

It was turned off, of course, he was on a plane. The voice mail spoke to me, telling me in Edward's cool and melodic voice to leave a message and that he would call back at a better time. It brought a bitter smile to my face; there wouldn't be any calling back for me.

"Edward... I'm sorry. Please, please forgive me for this, I couldn't bear it if any of you were hurt; much less my mother. They have her, they're threatening her, and I just... please don't blame anyone for this, I made this choice. It was my decision to go and meet Maria...

"But I... I won't be coming back. I know that she wants me as one of her own little slave vampires, but I'm not going to allow that. She'll have to kill me, and for that, I'm just... I can't apologize to you anymore, because I know it won't do any good. All I want, my last request, is that you forgive me, and that you keep living. That's how I want you to take revenge, by continuing to live, even if it's without me.

"I'm so, so, so sorry Edward..." The tears were streaking freely down my cheeks now, and I couldn't stop them. "I love you. Don't let Maria win. Live for me, for us." I hung up.

Pressing the phone against my lips, I cried. There was no escape route left for me, this was very much it. My death was waiting for me.

It took most of the car ride for me to gain enough control over myself to stop crying. I had to show no weakness when I faced down Maria; I had to trick her into believing that there would be no way that she would ever be able to keep me as her own little pet vampire. That was what I needed to do, I had to do that much. I needed to force her hand, to make her kill me.

I wasn't scared to die. This was my fight I guessed, it was part of the path which I'd chosen when I'd decided that I'd follow Edward into hell and back again. This was my punishment and fate for loving a vampire. And I felt no regrets for any of it at all.

The car stopped, and I looked out the window. It was a simple abandoned pub which I saw; this was where Maria had planned to end my life. It wasn't all that dramatic; it was nothing like the movies.

The driver stepped out and opened the door for me. Once I was out onto the sidewalk, he was back inside the car and he was gone. I was left alone to face my dark fate. I walked up to the door, more calm and determined then I'd ever felt before in my life. I wasn't scared at all. Instead, there was nothing inside me; I was completely empty and blank. It was almost as though I was dead.

Reaching for the door, I pushed it open. It creaked loudly, and closed with a too loud bang behind me as I stepped into the dusty and decrepit room of what had once been a flourishing pub I was sure. It was remarkably too normal, not the sort of place where you'd expect someone to be murdered.

At the very least, Edward would get to bury my body. It would break his heart, I knew, but it would at least give him a small measure of peace, knowing that he would be able to bury me properly. That would give him some closure, I hoped.

"You came."

Maria's girlish voice sent chills down my spine with how... utterly pleased and inhuman it sounded. Her voice didn't match what she really was.

"Esme?"

"Oh. The bitch is fine; Victoria has made sure of that." I didn't like the sound of that, but I said nothing.

"... then kill me."

"Killing you would be a waste, what I want is your talent," her smile was cruel and evil; full of dark intentions. "After all, that's what those pathetic weaklings saw in you. And I want it."

"Sorry to disappoint, but there's nothing special about me. I'm just human."

"No. There's something special about you, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to protect you so fiercely by hiding you here, and now trying to hide you somewhere else. Obviously you have something that they're desperate to keep from me, and I want it."

This was it, I had to try my best to make her believe that it wouldn't be worth it to keep me.

"I have no special gift, all that I have which makes me special, is that Edward loves me."

"... loves you?" She was definitely listening now.

"Yes, he loves me. That's why they hid me, there was no other reason; I don't have any special talent that I can bring with me into a vampire's life."

Her eyes narrowed, clearly this was a disappointment, "How... this is very much a very big let down." She frowned, and suddenly looked surprisingly like the young teenager instead of the bloodthirsty monster and killer that she truly was. Looks can really be quite deceiving.

Suddenly I was pinned to the wall by my neck, Maria was holding me there. I gasped, struggling to breathe. I had hoped that this would be painless, a quick death, but I was wrong. Maria intended to make sure that I felt every surge of pain, know of every heartbeat, and be all too aware of each of my breaths. She wanted me to know that she held my life in her hands, and that it was she who would deciding how I would die.

"But would it break this... Edward's heart if I were to turn you anyway?" Her grip relaxed enough to allow me to respond.

"No. He knows that no matter what, I'd come back to him."

Maria's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It seems that I am left with no option... and you do smell divine." I felt her nose trace along my neck, and I reached up to shove her away; repulsed by her touch. One of her delicate hands reached out, and I heard a snap. Pain flared from my wrist.

Then I was thrown across the room, my leg hit the bar with another sickening noise, and I felt the pain from that. Instinctively, I curled up, trying to protect my body from further abuse. But it was far from being over.

Standing over me, Maria tilted her head to the side, looking deceptively innocent. She bent at the waist, leaning over me now, "Come now precious little human. This is what happens when you run with us. Do you not like this pain? The turn is much worse... and I can still save you. As long as you become mine."

"N... n-no...!" I managed to gasp out around my pain. My mind was leaving, reeling from the pain which she'd already inflicted on me. I had no way out, I would have to hope that I'd see this end soon. I wanted to die, if it would stop the pain, then I'd take any out that was offered to me.

Suddenly, I was being lifted into the air by my already damaged wrist, and a scream of pain ripped from my throat. It was like my wrist was being wrenched from my arm. The pain was so sharp and vivid that my nerves were on fire with the sensation.

Next, I was thrown into the mirrors along the opposite wall. Shards fell around me, several causing minor scratches along my face. Blood dripped from the wounds. Maria's nostrils flared.

Was this it? My brain was being over-ridden by the pain, and it would willing seize any way out that it could.

Her eyes were filled with hunger, and suddenly she was in front of me. The last throw I'd experienced had knocked the wind out of me as well as stunned me, and I was helpless to stop her. All I could do was lie there and wait for her to finish me off. Maria ran her tongue along one of the gashes on my cheek, her lips twisted into a sadistic smile.

"You taste divine... I have never tasted someone so sweet. I will savor this kill for a long time to come."

My vision was swimming by that point, and I couldn't distinguish what was real from what was an illusion; everything was blurring together. Not even the sharp stab to my neck and then that burning fire as Maria's fangs sank into the tender flesh; all that slipped past my lips was a gasp, and then I fell silent, too close to unconsciousness to care anymore.

I could feel my blood being drained from my body, but I was finding it hard to care. At least it was ending, already I could feel the pain dulling as my life was being drunken away. I was starting to lose my mind to the blood loss.

Suddenly, there was a rip, and the pain broke through again, and I was screaming from the agony. Blood was pouring down the side of my neck in time to the beating of my heart, and I knew that Maria had to have nicked a vein, because if she'd had hit an artery, blood would've been spurting out from my neck like a water gun.

Cold hands touched my neck, and I felt something being pressed against the wound. In the background, there was growling, screeching, a high keening noise. Then a deathly oppressive silence. Already my vision had gone black, and now everything was sounding as though it was coming from at the other end of a very long tunnel.

"... sper! Jasper! Please... please answer me!" I wanted to answer, I really did, but I couldn't find my voice. The darkness was winning, and I was finding it inviting; I didn't want to feel anymore pain. "Don't leave me... please..."

The darkness won, though I fought against it.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Something is threatening to take my full attention away from the _Twilight_ fandom. But I know that I can't work on anything new until I've completed _Poison_; because otherwise it would never be finished. And I just can't leave any of you out in the cold like that, I'd feel too guilty about the entire thing.

Here's the latest installment of _Poison_, and I hope that you've all enjoyed it enough to leave me a comment or review, depending on the site that you're reading it on.

Goodnight to you all.

Twilight.


	23. Chapter 22: No One Mourns the Wicked

**Notes:** I did promise that I would update this as soon as I could, and here it is. I'm on spring break right now, but that's not a sure sign that the epilogue will be posted within that time frame. Anyways, here's your latest chapter, and technically the last official chapter of _Poison_.  
**Words:** 3 889 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Chapter 22: No One Mourns the Wicked**

A loud beeping noise was the first thing that I was aware of when I started to wake up. That, and a bright light which made me squeeze my eyes tightly closed in order to keep the light out. But I was more awake now, and that brought with it a whole wave of sensations that weren't very pleasant. For one thing, there was the feeling that there was something poking me uncomfortably in one wrist; and the feeling of something plastic and velcro against the other.

My leg felt heavy too. I was feeling as though I was floating in a cloudy haze, and it was making it difficult for me to actually open my eyes.

It didn't take much longer for me to realize that there was something down my throat. I reached up, intending to find out what it was, but a cold band of iron fastened around my arm, and pulled it back down to my side. Now I had to open my eyes, to find out what that was. Blinking once, I had to blink again before everything came into better focus.

Edward was leaning over me, his eyes and face a mask of worry, but those dull gold eyes brightened when he saw that I was awake. He smiled at me, though there was still some pain there.

"You're awake... I was so worried. They said that you'd lost a lot of blood." I frowned at him as best I could around the tube that was shoved down my throat. Damn it! I wanted it out! Edward must have noticed that I wasn't too pleased, because he said, "You've been intubated Jasper, you went into shock from the blood loss and weren't breathing properly."

Well, that explained the tube, and glancing down, I could see that there was an IV in my arm, which explained that uncomfortable feeling from earlier. There was a big lump where my left leg was, and my right wrist was held in a brace. Edward's eyes had followed mine, and when I looked back up to him, he seemed... angry. I flinched just a little, so sure that he was angry at me.

There was a clacking noise, and we both turned to see a nurse coming in. She smiled at us pleasantly, though I thought that it looked too fake. She checked the heart monitor that I was connected to, just as a doctor came in, the white tails of his lab coat flowing behind him. He conversed quietly with the nurse for a moment, before checking the chart at the foot of my bed, and then nodded to himself.

"Well, Mr. Whitlock, it seems that you've recovered enough over the past three days for us to stop the intubation."

That made me very happy, I really wanted to talk to Edward, because I was worried about how mad he was at me. I hoped that he'd forgiven me, because it was entirely my fault that I was in the hospital and banged up the way that I was.

Having the tube removed from down my throat was uncomfortable, and I wound up spending a good few minutes after it was gone coughing. Once I'd caught my breath and gotten used to breathing without a tube down my throat, the doctor asked me a few questions before he nodded, satisfied, and left, the nurse close behind on his heels.

Once the door clicked closed behind them, Edward's eyes were burning into mine. Now I was nervous, and also very terrified. He wasn't too mad at me, was he?

"You..." His voice was rough, strained; full of such raw emotions that they were making my head spin. Though that might have just been from my having the tube taken out, I was really confused.

"... I'm sorry." Ugh, my voice was still too breathless, weak, and I hated it. There was so much that I wanted to tell him, so much that I had to apologize for, and I couldn't get my vocal cords to function the way that I wanted them too. "I'm so sorry..."

"Please... please don't apologize. I... this is my fault." Already I was shaking my head.

"No... no it's not. We knew... we knew that my family was always a big risk to my safety..." Which reminded me. "Esme!" I tried to sit up, panicked, but Edward's cold hands were on my shoulders, holding me down gently as my heart raced and the heart monitor went wild.

"Jasper! Jasper please stay calm! You don't have to worry about Esme, Renée is with her. They're both fine." His voice was weaker on the last word, but I had to trust him. "Just stay calm, you're safe now, nothing and no one will hurt you."

I reached out with the arm that was in the brace, because it was closer to him, and touched his cheek. Edward was alive and he was at my side right at that moment, and I just wanted to hold him, because that was enough for now. Edward took my hand in his, and pressed it to his cheek. He looked like he was going to cry, but we both knew that he couldn't. My own eyes were welling up with tears, that would have to be enough for both of us.

"You nearly died... you have no idea how that feels, to know that I could've lost you so easily... when I saw Bella carrying you out of that building, I nearly lost myself. If Alice hadn't already taken care of Maria, then I would've torn her apart myself."

"It was you then." I couldn't really remember anything that had happened after Maria had bitten me, it was just a big black blur. Nothing stood out but **_his_** voice from right before I'd passed out, I'd been so out of it that I hadn't realized that Bella had been carrying me out of the building. My memory was filled with a lot of gaps.

"I didn't get there in time to stop her from nearly killing you." His eyes flared. "And you were stupid enough to provoke her into doing just that. Why? Why did you do that? Are you really that anxious for death?" He was definitely pissed.

Great, this was the one subject that I'd hoped I wouldn't have to confront him over. It was a touchy subject for him, and I didn't think he'd appreciate my stance on anything to do with my death or my being turned.

"Then you'd rather if she had turned me and you'd never have seen me again?"

"That's not-"

"No. This was one thing that I could do that was in my power to do, I knew that no matter what she did, there wouldn't be any way for me to get back to you. We wouldn't be able to simply go back to how everything was before all this shit came down; you'd be beating yourself up over it because you couldn't stop it. I know you Edward, and I know that's precisely what you would have done." I took a deep, wheezing breath.

Edward's breath slipped past his lips in a heavy sigh, he knew that I was telling the truth.

"But do you know... what you're death would have done to me? Even your... impassioned pleas to me on voicemail would have stopped me from going to the Volturi and asking - no, begging - for death. A world without you would be a very meaningless and desolate existence, and I could never deal with that."

"Edward... I'm sorry." He set his fingers over my lips and shook his head.

"No, it doesn't matter now. You're alive, and still with me, and that's all that I care about. Just promise me that you'll never do something so stupid like that again."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not planning too, the pain's not worth it. And I've never considered myself a masochist, so I'm not going to start now."

"Jasper..." He sounded exasperated. "Just promise me this."

"Alright, I promise."

"Good." He pressed his lips to my forehead and I frowned, reaching up with both my hands before he could pull away to bring him right back down so I could kiss him full on the mouth. When Edward pulled away, his nose wrinkled a little.

"Something wrong?"

"They gave you several blood transfusions, you'd lost quite a bit of blood, and you don't smell all that appealing because of it."

"Oh, so you're saying that I smell bad then?"

Edward smirked, "Like I just said, it's not an appealing smell, I like your natural scent much more then this horrible mess of numerous scents. And the smell of the hospital isn't all that great either, it's a burning smell of antiseptics and other chemicals with a too strong smell. I dislike it immensely; Bella and Alice don't appreciate it all that much either."

I smiled at him and rolled my eyes, "You'll live. Now when do I get to go home?"

He chuckled, "You are such a strange little creature."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I'd been unconscious for three days, and I'd spent two days in hiding from Maria, which had severely cut into my spring break. Plus the hospitalization, I wasn't released until the day before the last day of break. And then Edward, Alice, and Bella had escorted me to the airport and right onto the plane that would take us back to Seattle, and from there back home to Forks.

This time, though, the flight wasn't nearly so stressful, and I managed to spend the entire flight back to Seattle sleeping. I hadn't realized that I was so tired, even though I'd spent most of the past several days in a state of medically induced unconsciousness. I used Edward's shoulder as a pillow, with his arm and jacket wrapped around me. The flight was just as long and tedious as I remembered, even though I was only awake for maybe two hours of it.

I didn't know what would be awaiting us when we got there, but it certainly wasn't anything that I'd imagined. Charlie, Rosalie, James, and Riley were all there waiting for us, each with a different expression on their faces.

Charlie looked extremely happy and relieved to see that we were all okay, and he hugged each one of us before letting the others in.

Riley looked relieved, I think, while Rosalie was trying to come across as apathetic but to me she just looked at me hatefully. She was still probably upset and angry that all of this was my fault, that the man she loved had risked his life to keep me alive and safe yet I'd waltzed right into the sadistic Maria's hands. We definitely were probably never going to get along.

Lastly, James looked disappointed, maybe even a little irritated, but he otherwise seemed happy. I didn't know him very well, but I got the impression that he would have been nicer if he'd been the one who had gotten to end Maria's hateful existence instead of Alice. But she was gone now, and he was willing to accept that and move on, I hoped.

I was surprised that Esme and Renée weren't there to welcome us back, and it hurt that my mom wouldn't want to know that I was okay. Oh, which made me remember how confused I'd been when I'd found out that she hadn't come to England to visit me at all. That didn't make sense, Esme would've normally rushed to my side to make sure that I was okay and alive. But she hadn't, and now I was starting to worry.

There was something that no one was telling me, and it was worrying me. Edward wrapped his arms around me, and the entire Swan family walked with us out of the airport and escorted us to the cars which they'd left waiting for us.

Edward convinced the others that we needed some time alone, so Edward climbed into the driver's side of the Volvo, while I climbed into the passenger side. We followed the others, who had all climbed into a large Jeep that was parked beside the Volvo, while Alice and Bella climbed into the car that they'd originally driven here days ago with me.

Once we were on the highway back to Forks, did I dare to ask what was on my mind, "Edward... what happened to Esme? She wasn't here and you... you didn't sound so sure when I asked you in the hospital."

His hands tightened just a little on the wheel, and I knew that the answer was probably not going to be pleasant.

"I'm sorry... I should have told you before, but... we weren't even sure if she would pull through..."

I could feel my throat constricting with worry; Esme could have died? What had happened? Had Victoria hurt her? Now I was really scared.

"Please, just tell me Edward."

"Victoria... Victoria turned her. That's why she couldn't be there to meet you. It's hardest to resist the blood lust so soon after coming out of the change, and neither she nor any of us wanted to risk your life on her thin control."

It felt like my heart had stopped. Esme... my mother, was no longer human? She was... she was a vampire?! My breathing became rapid and shallow, and I could feel my heart rocketing in my chest like crazy. Then I started to feel faint and suddenly Edward's hand had taken my hand in his and pulled it to him.

"Calm down Jasper! Calm! Esme is fine, she's with Renée in Alaska with friends of our family. Nothing will hurt her now. She is one of us, she's safe and, while not technically alive, she's still with you. And she made me promise to have you call her the moment that we return."

For a few minutes, his words didn't sink in, and when they did it took the better part of an hour for me to calm down. My wrist throbbed, reminding me of my own close brush with death. Other than the brace on my wrist and the walking cast on my leg, I had bandages wrapped snugly around my neck from where Maria had bitten me. At least I'd started regaining my normal scent, at least, that's what Edward had told me.

So instead, I took my head into my hands and I cried. I wasn't sure why, it could've been for a number of reasons. Esme, I knew, had only just begun to come to grips with what the woman whom she loved was, and the subject of her becoming one of them had never even been touched on. I'd lost my mother too, now I couldn't see her because of what she'd become.

There was no way that this was fair.

Edward said nothing, he let me cry, knowing that I needed to. I'd been holing up my emotions for days now, and it was hurting me. This was probably for the best, because now I was the sole weakness to their family, I was the only one left on this side of the divide between being human and being one of the eternally undead. I was the last one left who could cry for any of this.

I didn't stop crying until I couldn't anymore, and by that point my lap was filled with used tissues (Edward had opened the glove compartment and had taken it out and given it to me), and my eyes were red and puffy. My head hurt and I felt exhausted, and it didn't take much longer for me to fall asleep.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The bright sun was what woke me up the next day. My curtains hadn't been pulled down all the way, so the afternoon sun was able to shine through the gap and right onto me. I blinked and raised my hand to rub at my eyes. They were still a little sore from the day before, and I felt a little stiff, but I was fine otherwise.

I sat up, the covers falling down to my hips, and I looked around my room, which was empty except for myself. The house sounded completely silent to me, but I doubted that I was alone. After what had just happened, and my mother's fate, I knew that until my safety was completely assured, that I'd never be allowed to be alone again.

Drawing my knees to my chest, I felt like I wanted to cry again, but didn't want too. I'd already cried myself out yesterday, and although the wounds were still too fresh for me to say that I was completely over them, I'd be okay. As long as I knew that Esme was fine, then that would have to be enough; at least she was still in this world, even if she wasn't human anymore.

My bedroom door flew open, and Edward was standing there in the doorway. Before I could say anything he was at my side, pulling me into his arms.

I had a lot to be relieved about, Edward was still with me, and I was still alive. Now that I was calmer, I could put things into perspective a little better. Even though my mom wasn't human anymore, she was still there, and I still had a place where I was safe and loved. No one had died, except Maria, and things would look up.

All I had to do was hope that Esme was able to pull through this.

Edward and I stayed like that for a while, before he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself for what I knew was coming. After a quick conversation that I couldn't follow he held out the phone to me.

"Jasper?"

"Mom!"

"Oh Jasper, I'm so relieved to hear your voice! I was so worried!" Esme's voice gushed from over the phone. I could just imagine her and Renée sitting somewhere, the older vampire holding her and offering her comfort and support as best she could.

"I'm fine mom," I was choked up, and we both knew it.

Edward's arm was wrapped around my shoulder, and he pressed his lips to my temple, then pulled me closer so that I was practically sideways in his lap. I felt his arms drape around my hips, and I knew I wasn't alone.

"You don't know... I was so worried, Jasper, you don't know how worried I was... and than that woman, that crazed vampire showed up, I don't know... I don't know how she found me, and... and she threatened... she said that she was going to kill me... unless Renée told her where you were and to phone you with instructions..."

"Mom, it's okay, you don't need to explain what happened to me... I just want to know if**_you're_** okay."

There was some silence on the other side of the line before my mom responded.

"I think... I'm doing as well as I could be in this situation. We had to leave New York, it's not... safe, for me to be around people right now."

Renée's soft voice could be heard from the other side, saying, "It'll pass Esme within the next year, as long as you have the determination to resist, you can."

"But I'll get to see you when you're control's better, right?"

"Yes, of course! The moment that it's safe for me to see, then I'll come right to you!"

"Keep calling me until then, okay? Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean that I don't want to. I love you mom, keep me posted."

"I love you too. I'll call you again later, Renée and I have somewhere we need to go."

"Okay, bye." The line clicked dead.

I hung up the cell, and handed it back to Edward, who tucked it into his pocket.

"They're staying in Alaska for the time being," he told me. "It's isolated, and we have some family friends up there in Denali. Until Esme's control is on par with the rest of us, or close to it, then she'll stay with them."

"You have friends in Denali?"

"Another coven like ours, though I think that one of their members adopted a human girl a few years back. I went there shortly after I met you for the first time, when I thought that I might kill you."

I wrapped my arms around Edward, and snuggled closer, smiling just a little as I inhaled his all too familiar scent. Even though I was a little hungry, I was curious about this other coven.

"How many members are there of that coven?"

"We have Carmen and her mate Eleazar, as well as Carmen's two sisters, Kate and Irina. Though, ever since Esme arrived, Kate has been living in a smaller town, Juneau, with the orphan that their family adopted years ago."

Edward must have seen the confusing on my face, because he elaborated, "She was left on their doorstep as a toddler, and she's been with them ever since. If you're wondering, she does know what they are, but has said nothing over all these years. She's going to start university next year."

"Does she know where she's going?"

"She's gotten accepted into the University of Alaska Southeast, but also into University of Washington."

"Has she decided yet?"

A smirk quirked at the corners of Edward lips, "She wants to attend the latter, ever since she was first introduced to me, she's been harboring something of a crush on me. And even though I've expressed to her that I have no interest in her, she's still very determined."

"Oh, so I've got competition then?" I was teasing him, but he seemed to take this seriously, and I found myself pinned to the bed, Edward's hands on either side of my head. His dull gold eyes were smoldering.

"There is no competition. Not now, not ever. That human girl has not even a tenth of the attraction and love which I feel for you. There will never be anyone else, if I were to lose you, then I would be lost." His lips descended on mine, kissing me senseless in the span of only a few minutes.

By this point I knew that I didn't have anything to worry about, Edward loved me and he'd proven that over and over again. I didn't have to fear this girl, or anyone else, because I knew that Edward wouldn't leave me; not after everything we had been through, and everything that he'd risked for me.

Things would work out, and we'd make it through. We would be fine. I knew that.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Well, there you have it. The last chapter of _Poison_, but it's not completely over yet, there's one more part to go! We still have the epilogue, and then this story is officially complete. So I hope you enjoyed this part, because other characters have received a small introduction, and they may be more important in the future!

To everyone, thanks, and please leave me some comments and reviews. Suggestions are welcome!

Twilight.

**P.S. I had to add this, because I'm not sure if I want to continue posting on this site. Recently, I learned that someone has taken one of my fics, ****_Truth_, and has posted it on their account under a different name. I've sent this person two PMs asking them to take it down, and I've also reported them. Unfortunately, nothing has been done, and it really hurts to see that people have reviewed it and have told the person that they liked the story without realizing that it's not theirs. If any of you have come across others who have done this, please come forward or report the person! As it is, I don't know if I want to continue posting here if this is going to happen and if nothing is going to be done about it. I will finish _Poison_****, but I've just been really hurt that someone would actually go and do this and expect to get away with it, which they have. I have posted the details regarding this in my profile, so if you want, please check it out. I just ask that you don't add insult to injury and leave them reviews. PMs would do just fine if you want to try and help me in getting them to admit their fault.**


	24. Epilogue: Watch the Sky

**Notes:** I finally made it. I'm so shocked that I could've actually finished something like this, because it was just so long, and such a big undertaking. I want to thank all of you, because I don't think that I could've done this if it wasn't for all of you. And for those asking, and I've been getting reviews and a few PMs on the issue, there WILL be a sequel, so look out for _Ghost Love Score_ which should be making its debut in June!  
**Words:** 5 774 words  
**Disclaimer:** The Twilight series and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. This means that I don't own the characters or anything but the strange circumstances that I slap them into. I'll put them back once I'm done with them.

**Epilogue: Watch the Sky**

For me, life was never going to ever be normal again, no matter how hard I may want to try. Edward and his family had made absolutely sure of that. Though, I was still at fault for it, in some ways, but it was all because I had the fortune to have fallen in love with a vampire. Esme though, had gotten the fate which I was only now starting to long for.

It had been a few months since my near-death experience in London, and Esme had been gradually coming to terms with her having being turned. Over the conversations I'd had with her, by phone usually, but now she was emailing me on a regular basis, she'd explained that it was something that she'd accepted. At the very least, she would never have to worry about Renee ever being alone.

That was my worry now, for Edward.

He didn't want me to become one of them, but with my luck, we'd be facing something big soon. And even though I was prepared, and wanted too, become one of them, Edward wasn't willing to have to face that reality. It left me with the problem of wanting him to be the one, and going with what was practical, and just asking Charlie to do it. I knew that if I presented to him a good enough argument, that he'd cede and grant my request.

Edward would be so angry with both of us, I knew that, but I knew that he would eventually come round and understand. That was what I had to hope for.

But I still had to finish school, and I was willing to put off my turning until I had finished high school. So that I could leave to be better thought out and planned for a later date.

This brought me back to the present, which was glaring at the phone which was sitting too innocently in its cradle while I awaited the dreaded call from Billy Black. He called every day, at exactly the same time, so I was prepared, more so then I'd been when he'd called in the past.

Since Esme hadn't come home, and he knew that the Swans were involved, he was assuming the worst; and nothing I said could convince him otherwise. If he didn't buy the truth, then I'd just have to tell him that I'd call Esme, and that she could get back to him, though she'd tell him the exact same things that I had.

Just like I'd predicted, the phone rang. I sighed heavily and picked it up, hitting the 'talk' button as I did so.

"Hello?"

"Is Esme there?"

I let out another heavy sigh, was it too much to ask that he could be more polite? "I told you yesterday Billy, and the day before that, that my mom isn't here; she's in Alaska."

"The Swans -"

"Did nothing, and Esme will tell you the same thing. They wanted me, and they were willing to go through Esme to get what they wanted." There was silence on the other end of the phone, and I was sorely tempted to just hang up and have my mother call Billy and try to talk some sense into him.

"They really did not do anything to her?"

"Yes, she's in Alaska for a reason, Renee took her there to protect others." _To protect me_.

Cold hands smoothed over my shoulders in a comforting gesture, and I knew that Edward was there behind me without having to turn around. I'd recognize him and his unmistakable presence anywhere; it was burned into my memory.

"Have her call me; I want to hear this from her."

"I know."

The line clicked dead.

Sighing, I replaced the phone in its cradle and turned to Edward, burying my face into his shoulder and letting his arms wrap around me. He knew that I hated this, because Billy had been my mother's friend for years, and now their friendship was going to be destroyed over such a small thing as her humanity. I mean, Esme was still the same person she was before, just not human; nothing else had changed but that. It was enough, though, for Billy to believe that my mother, the woman he'd been friends with for years, was gone completely.

It hurt, a lot.

"I want to tell you that everything will turn out well in the end," Edward murmured into my hair, "but I don't have that ability."

"Say it anyway, please." I pulled him closer, trying to keep my own emotions in check. Now I was the sole human who was the one weak point of their family, and it was painful to know. All of them would be more than willing to throw their lives away to protect me, which was something that I'd never be able to stand for.

"Everything will be alright, Jasper, you'll see."

It was easier for me to believe it when he said it. Edward had that confidence about him, the kind that came from years of experience, which only those with plenty of wisdom had that made you believe anything that they said. And even though I knew that there was no way that he could guarantee that, it still made me feel infinitely better.

I grabbed his hips and held them in my hands tightly. I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt like crying. My entire world was falling apart around me, and it was painful; everything was different now, and I was going to lose people I cared about, but I still couldn't regret the choices that I'd made.

The scar that Maria had left on my neck was proof of the danger that I now had to live with on a daily basis. And, somehow, it made me feel horrible, dirty almost.

When I pulled back, I realized for the first time that his eyes were the same color as pitch. He'd have to go hunting that meant he'd be leaving me in Bella's care for the night and most of tomorrow.

"You have to hunt." It wasn't a question.

"I've been putting it off for as long as I can, I don't want to leave you." The set of his jaw was much tenser now, I realized, and it reminded me of those first few painful days back when I'd come to Forks. "It's getting difficult, to resist."

"Bella will be with me, I'll be fine. I worry about you too; I don't want you to be starving yourself because you don't want to leave me. Please, take care of yourself Edward."

He sighed, than took a deep breath, inhaling my scent. "Bella hunted only this weekend, you'll be safe with her around. James will stay too, just patrolling the area thought; the rest of us will be out hunting."

Lightly, he pressed his lips to mine; this time a chaste kiss since he wasn't willing to risk losing control by tasting me. I didn't mind so much, I'd gotten used to this sort of kiss whenever he was about to go hunting; it was his way of saying that he would see me soon. He pulled back all too soon, and I let out the breath I'd been holding without knowing it.

"Be careful, okay? And call me when you get back, call me the moment that you're finished," I pleaded with him.

"I always do, don't I?" He smiled at me, giving my cheek one last caress before he vanished; moving too fast for my eyes to follow. I heard the front door close softly as he left.

Unconsciously, I reached up and touched the mark which Maria's teeth had left in my neck. My mind wandered, and I blushed when I realized that I'd been thinking about just what it would feel like if it was Edward's fangs which had sunk into my flesh and left their mark. Somehow, that didn't seem so unpleasant; instead, it sent thrums of pleasure rocking through me. If he wanted my blood, I'd gladly give it. I couldn't deny him anything.

"You don't like having that there."

Bella's voice startled me, and I whirled around. I hadn't gotten used to how quietly they moved; it was silent and quick. There was no way that I could follow it with my eyes; to me, they were just blurs if I even noticed it at all.

Even though I knew it wasn't a question, I still answered it like it was one: "No, somehow it makes me feel... I don't know, dirty. Like I've done something wrong and it's eating away at me from the inside."

Delicately, she approached me and hopped up onto the kitchen counter, "Edward doesn't want you to know, but you'd ask anyway. You would want to know why he looks at that mark with such hatred, why it is that he feels such anger towards Maria for what she did. It's more than just how she nearly killed you, it's more then something he is consciously aware of."

"Does this have to do with... that mating stuff you talked about before?"

"Yes."

I waited expectantly, and Bella didn't disappoint.

"It should be his teeth that left that scar on you, not hers. If he gave into his instincts, something that he's resisting, that mark wouldn't be there; it would be his there, covering that mark and dominating it. Erasing it, if you will." Her eyes were distant, and I hadn't realized it until now, but there was the slight sheen of a crescent of teeth marks which marred the side of her own throat.

"Like the mark you have?"

She looked to the side, away from the window, "I was turned by someone other than my mate. This means that it was their mark which I carried from my human life into this one. When I met Alice, she erased that mark, replacing it with her own; just as I did."

"Edward wouldn't ever do that. He's afraid of killing me; he doesn't want me to be what you are."

"It's unavoidable, one day, he'll have to understand that he will have to either turn you, or let you die as a human. Though, if he chooses that route, eventually he'll just give up and go ask the Volturi for death."

"I don't want him to die."

"None of us want that either, both of you mean too much to me, to us, for any of us to allow it. If Edward doesn't turn you, I am sure that another of us would turn you. Charlie, Alice, myself; any of us would do it if we felt that not doing so would bring either of you harm."

"Edward would be so angry, though, if you did."

"He'd understand it, eventually."

That was what I was hoping for, what I knew he'd do. It would take time, but if it did happen like that, Edward would eventually come round and accept that it was for the best. I had to believe that he'd love me enough to accept that it was what I wanted and that I wasn't going anywhere. Even my being turned wouldn't change how I felt about him. I loved him, and that wouldn't change. Ever.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

My birthday wasn't as huge an affair as I'd thought that Alice would've made it. I guessed it was because it was a school day when it happened, and she'd remembered, thankfully, that I was human and needed to sleep. Also, I had exams that I needed to study for. I needed sleep and time to study.

Which was why all of them had crammed themselves into my house, bringing with them presents and a birthday cake which was too big for me to finish on my own; I'd shoved the leftovers of it in the fridge, where it would sit until it went bad or I could con it off to others. The rest of the party, though, was bearable.

Bella had given me a cell phone of my own, while Alice had bought me another complete outfit that probably cost more then what I'd been wearing at the time. I'd taken to wearing scarves and turtlenecks, to hide the scar which Maria had left, which was why Riley had seen fit to give me a scarf for my birthday. It was black and gray striped, and so long that it fell to my hips when I wore it. I was relieved to find that it covered the bite.

Rosalie's name had been hastily scribbled onto the card below Riley's, and I knew that she didn't like me enough to even deign give me the time of day. She'd been conspicuously absent from the party, though no one else made any mention of it.

Lastly, Charlie had gifted Edward and me a Romanian vacation home. I'd looked over the pictures, and was almost horrified when I saw that he'd had it custom built for us. Everything about it was new, and it was styled in the modern way. In fact, it looked a lot like the Swan family home here in Forks. There were a lot of windows, which surprised me, and I was looking forward to the summer holidays so that Edward and I could go there and check it out.

I was hoping that it hadn't cost too much, though that probably was too much for me to hope for.

Edward had been forbidden from spending anything on me, since he'd already given me so much. I got lucky; he didn't spend anything on me, _**technically**_. He got away with his presents because he explained, he technically had spent nothing, everything he gave me were things that he already owned.

In front of everyone, he'd gifted me a small wrapped gift. Inside, was one of those cheap jewel coloured CD cases, with a burned CD inside. I looked up at him for an explanation.

"As promised, I spent nothing. It's just recordings of me playing, I thought that you would enjoy it; you inspired one of the songs on there." He was smiling, so I knew that there must be more. Edward read my expression, and I continued. "And since you don't have a car... I thought that you'd appreciate my gifting you my Volvo."

"I couldn't-!"

Edward shook his head and held up his hand to stop me, "No protesting; its fine. I only bought that car because we needed to _**blend in**_ here in Forks. I think that you would probably appreciate it more than I ever did, or could."

Since there didn't seem to be any way to talk him out of it, I grumbled out an acceptance. Edward grinned broadly, and I felt him press the keys into my hands. Instinctually, I curled my fingers around them and then grabbed his hand with the other.

I looked up at him, not sure what I was asking for with my eyes, but I knew that I wanted something. If his family hadn't been there, watching our every move, I probably would have thrown myself at him asking for something that I knew he wouldn't give me.

The rest of the evening was spent quietly, I stayed on the couch between Alice and Edward, curled into his side. I didn't want him to leave, even when the rest of his family left to keep up appearances, which left him and me alone in the house together.

Edward wasn't silent, and was staring at the TV without really seeing what was on. His hand absently stroked my arm, sliding down to my elbow. I looked up at him, watching him.

"You seem... upset about something." His voice broke the silence.

"It's – I just – Edward... I don't know..." And really, I didn't. The feelings I was experiencing right then were confusing, and I didn't know exactly how they could be resolved. For one, I was feeling that pang that told me I was worried about how I'd be leaving him alone in the world one day when I died of old age. That was only if I stayed human.

The other feelings were those of how I would feel if I was turned. I wanted that, I didn't want him to ever be alone, but I reminded myself about their treaty with the werewolves here in Forks. Though I didn't know if they were real or not, I didn't want to have to be the reason for why they would have to leave everything that they'd built here. I couldn't be selfish like that.

But... that was the future that I wanted. It was hard to imagine, but it was what I wanted, and I knew that somewhere, Edward wanted that too.

His fingers pressed gently to my lips, silencing me. I looked up into his soft golden eyes, and melted. If he had something that he wanted to say, than I'd listen. Obviously this was important, otherwise he wouldn't have waited until the others had left.

"I have something... that I wanted to talk to you about."

I waited, silently with bated breath.

"There was one more thing that I'd like to give you." He shifted, pulling something out from his pocket. "I know that... we haven't talked about anything like this, and the risks involved... though I know that you don't want me to be alone."

"Did Bella talk to you?" He looked at me, confused.

"About what?"

"Nothing, nevermind then." If she hadn't told him, then I figured that he didn't need to know about what we'd talked about that one time when he'd disappeared to go hunting. He couldn't read my mind, just as he couldn't hear hers, which meant that our conversation was a secret between us, and it would remain that until I could find it in myself to tell him.

He frowned, but continued, "I don't know if I have the strength to do it... but one day... I would like it, so much, if you would be at my side... forever."

I inhaled sharply, looking up at him and searching his face for any signs of deceit. I couldn't find any, and everything seemed to drop away from around me. All that I was seeing was Edward, and I knew that this was it; he was offering me a chance at eternity, and damn it! I was going to take it!

"You really mean that? You want me... one day, to be like you?"

"It's dastardly of me, I know, and horribly selfish. But... I don't think that I could ever live, go on, if I were to lose you to something mortal, something that I couldn't stop from happening. I can't stop you from aging, from dying like that, and if I lost you to disease, it would end the same. You mean so much to me Jasper, I don't even know if you could understand it completely..."

"Yes."

"What?" He looked at me, shock written all over his face. I don't think that he understood my answer, I took a deep breath, I'd have to explain.

"I'd like that... I don't want to lose you, I... I hate knowing that if I ever died, that it would bring about your death, it hurts. That's what I don't want to think about. You have to keep living, always, for me," I touched his face, tilting it down so that I could better look into his eyes. "I want this, what you're offering, I want it. I want it so much, even though I am just a little scared. In the end, I know that it will be worth it, if I can be with you. Always."

I smiled at him, letting him know that I was sincere. This wouldn't be tomorrow, it wouldn't be in the immediate future, but I knew that the promise was there. Edward seemed to understand, and know, that there was no way that his family would let either of us die ever. I think that he would rather have control over what happened to me, rather than leave it to his family. Yes, it was selfish of him to want that, but I wanted it too.

"You want this? You want this... damned existence?"

"More than anything, I love you Edward." I leaned up and kissed him briefly. "I don't think of you as a monster Edward, no matter what you've done, I love you. I've told you this before, I belong to you just as much as you belong to me. I never want to leave you."

He sighed, his cool breath ghosting over my lips as he did so. I could see the pain burning in his eyes, despite my words, and I knew that he still didn't want this, no matter what I said or wanted. Edward saw himself as being a monster, and I didn't think that there would be any way to convince him of otherwise.

"I want to do it myself... even though... even though I don't want you to become like this, like me. You deserve so much more than this. You've given yourself to me, you've given me love even though I feel that I'm undeserving of it. For whatever reason it is, you love me, and I don't want to hurt you."

Cold lips pressed to my temple, my cheek, the corner of my jaw. Then, there was the slight pressure as Edward nuzzled against the scarf which covered the bite. I shuddered, hating that I was hiding it from him; that I had to hide it because I felt shame about something that I couldn't have helped. Again, I felt that desire to want to have his teeth sink into my flesh, to blot out that despicable mark.

I felt something rough and worn on my wrist, as Edward's fingers quickly placed something on my wrist. When he pulled away, his eyes sparkling yet still far away, I glanced down.

It was a black wristband, which was leather that looked rather worn. I guessed that it was a bit old and had probably been worn a lot at one point or another. The part that faced upward was rather plain, with engraved patterns on it, but when I turned it over, I gasped softly. The part that covered the inside of my wrist had a crystal in the shape of a heart fastened or attached into the leather. It was beautiful, and I was surprised that Edward had given me something like this, I looked up at him for answers.

"Think of it as a promise... one day, I'll make you one of us, when you're ready. I won't do it before then, no matter what." His eyes held that promise, and I knew that there would be no convincing him to do go forward with it now or any time soon. I had said that I was afraid, and he wouldn't turn me until I could honestly tell him that I wasn't.

"You're not going to change your mind? Ever?"

"No." That sounded final enough to me, and I smiled up at him. Grateful suddenly, I knew that I didn't have to worry anymore about him being alone, about being without me. He would go through with this, he'd promised me, he knew it was inevitable.

I smiled up at him, "Thank you."

"Please don't... don't thank me for this. I don't want to end your life, yet I will one day, because I don't want to ever lose you."

"Yes, but I want to be with you, I want to be with you forever. It's not what you want, I know, but I love you and you're willing to go through with it. It's more then I could ever hope for, that's why I'm thanking you Edward."

Again, he pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth, before pulling back to hover just millimetres from my lips. I made the move, leaning forward just enough to capture his lips with mine. Drawing him in, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him flush against myself as I fell backwards against the couch.

I was happy, and relieved at the same time. Edward had promised me eternity, and even though it wouldn't come soon, it was still a promise, and I knew that he would keep that promise to me. This was hurting him, I knew that, but he would accept it eventually and he'd harbour more regret if he didn't do it then if he did.

For now, the crystal heart he'd given me would symbolize the future that we would have together. I could wait until he was ready, until I was ready.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The summer holidays took too long to come, and I knew that I'd have to plan a visit back home to visit Carlisle; he wanted to see me again, and introduce me to the person who he'd been dating for several months. I was right about my moving out helping his love life; apparently, the woman didn't like men who already had kids who were above the age of ten.

Edward hadn't been sure about coming or not, and eventually he talked me into going alone, and he would join me at a later date. The one small stipulation I gave him, was that he had to let me take some pictures of the two of us and his family so that I could show Carlisle. It would make him feel better, I thought; if he could see them before I introduced him to my boyfriend; there wasn't any other word that I could apply.

It was Alice who volunteered to be our photographer, and she took the 'putting together some pictures of my time in Forks thus far' to the extreme.

My kitchen table had disappeared under everything needed to make the perfect scrapbook. Alice had promised that she'd clean up while I was gone, but I didn't trust her. All of the pictures that she took were candid shots; some of which I had to veto, because they were of the subject matter that I didn't think that my dad would approve of.

Lightly, Edward ruffled my hair and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. We were sitting in the living room of my house, watching _Repo! The Genetic Opera_, for kicks. Oddly enough, I found that singing while killing or death was going on was very amusing. I laughed, and Edward stared at me, when Luigi and Pavi Largo were singing about what they were going to inherit from their father while there was this poor woman dying on the floor.

It was just so outrageous that I couldn't help but find it amusing. Edward seemed to think that I was a little strange, finding something like that amusing.

The only other person watching the movie with us was James, since everyone else had gone hunting for the weekend. Charlie was planning to take a short 'vacation' to visit Phil and also iron out a few more details involving the house he'd given Edward and I. Bella and Alice were also planning a small getaway, just the two of them, before coming back to Forks.

Riley and Rosalie would be staying here, but since they'd 'graduated' from high school, they were planning to get married, again, and then take off on their honeymoon. I was a bit envious of them.

Anyways, I was surprised that James had decided to join us; he normally kept to himself even though he was now a member of the Swan coven. I think that he was just going to need some time to heal, time that Maria had never allowed him, and to come to terms with the his family's murders. I couldn't help but feel sympathy for him.

Other than that, he was very polite, and mostly spent his time reading or out hunting in the forest. He'd chosen to spend the evening with us, because Alice had hinted that there might be something good in it for him.

I don't think that he really enjoyed the movie, though. Come to think of it, I think that I was the only one who really liked it; Edward seemed a little shocked that it was as violent as it was, with such dark themes. Some of the songs hit a little too close to home.

The movie didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, and it ended around just a little before nine. I got up to turn off the DVD player and switch the TV back onto its regular channels, but the ringing of the doorbell caught me off guard.

"Edward? Can you put the DVD away and turn it off for me? I'll go see who's at the door."

Edward nodded, breaking the illusion that he was a statue which had been carved on my couch, and got up and was at the machine in the space of less than half-a-second.

I'd gotten my cast off a few weeks previously, but Charlie had still advised that I take it easy. My wrist was healed too, so I was completely cast and bandage free. I walked quickly to the door, unlocked it, and opened the door.

Standing on my doorstep, in the pouring rain of a wet June evening, was Jacob Black.

This was the last thing I'd expected, Jacob hadn't come to visit me at all since that one time months back, and it surprised me that he'd come now. I think that Billy had something to do with it, he didn't trust the Swans, and didn't want his son associating with them. The fact that one Swan was almost always with me probably had kept him at bay.

"Hey, can I come in?"

I noticed that he had duffel slung over his shoulder, "Uh, yeah, come on in Jake. I was just finishing up watching a movie with Edward."

"Oh."

Rolling my eyes, I walked into the hallway, leaving him standing in the open door, "You're not interrupting anything, promise. Charlie's nephew's in town, so he's over too."

That was the lie which the Swans had come up with to explain James' sudden appearance in Forks. He was Charlie's other sister's son, and she wanted her son to spend some time with his uncle and adoptive cousins before he went off to university. It was a lame ass lie, but pretty much everyone bought it, which was what we wanted.

"... you don't mind if I crash here tonight, do you?"

I looked at him, confused. Jacob hurried to explain.

"Billy and I got into an argument, and I ran out of the house; he's still pretty pissed at me, and I don't wanna go home right now to face him. He should've cooled off enough in the morning for us to have a calmer conversation."

"Yeah, it's fine, don't worry about it. But don't you have friends on the reserve whose places you could crash at? Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Dad's the elder, remember? My friends wouldn't care, they'd let me crash there, but their parents are a whole different story. Almost all of them have bought into the whole 'the Swans are our enemies and we shouldn't associate with them' crap, and I can't take it."

"Oh really?" Neither Jacob nor I had heard Edward's approach, and both of us jumped at his sudden appearance. He was leaning against the wall just behind me, looking extremely sexy with his eyebrow quirked and a lazy smirk on his lips. I got the feeling that he knew exactly what was running through Jacob's mind at that moment, and he found it to be very amusing.

"Hey Edward," Jacob's voice was low, and he looked down at his shoes. I saw his ears redden just a little; he was embarrassed.

I looked at Edward, searching his face for some sign of rejection for whether or not Jacob could stay. It was my house, and I could control who stayed and who didn't, but Edward had been planning on staying the night, like he always did, and I didn't know if he'd be willing to do so with Jacob in the house. That would be suspicious.

"I was just going to leave in a little while," Edward replied, though it was aimed more towards me. I caught the meaning in his words; I'd be alone for a while tonight.

"Don't leave on my account, sorry if I'm crashing the party." Jacob held up his hands and smiled. I felt infinitely more at ease, even though Jacob had been taught that the Swans were evil and not to be trusted, I didn't think that he really felt that way. It was a relief, and it meant that he and Edward actually got along with very little effort.

"Who's here now?"

The instant that James joined us, the entire atmosphere shifted.

Jacob's head snapped up and I saw his cheeks redden just a little; he met James' eyes and quickly looked away. The door shut behind him with a soft click, and he scuffed his shoes on the welcome mat that sat innocently on the floor.

For a few moments, I saw James' golden eyes warm up so that they resembled Edward's whenever he was looking at me. There was warmth in them, a light that hadn't been there before. I was starting to recognize it as being something akin to love, though that would come later.

On the other hand, Jacob seemed embarrassed by the attention that James was paying to him, because I guessed that when you're from a small town, having some gorgeous guy staring at you with undisguised interest was flattering. Even though James' eyes were unsettling in how they were still golden but flecked with red, I could tell that Jacob was flattered by the attention. He was shyly checking out the vampire in return, his eyes flicking over him quickly and carefully.

He probably didn't want the other to realize that he was returning that interest tentatively. Oddly enough, I found it entertaining.

Finally, the silence which had settled over all of us broke when James finally spoke. His face broke into a huge grin as he said one of the things that I'd remember for the rest of my life, simply because of how funny it had been and the reactions that it had spawned in all of us.

"I'd tap that."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

A special thank you to both fortassetu and roadsidefury, for all their support and help, especially to the latter who served as such a great muse and inspiration to me when I got stuck or had problems with trying to figure out where I should go next. For you, Jen, I snuck in that line, just for you. Also, a big thanks to Concubine99 for finding those errors that I missed in my earlier morning edits of all my fics; it's difficult to catch all of it.

To all of my reviewers, people who alerted me and my fics, a HUGE thank you. I couldn't have done this without you! Your support and words of encouragement have really meant a lot to me, and made all the long late nights worth it. My nights spent writing up till four or something in the morning have been made worth it by the phenomenal positive response that I've gotten from all of you here in the Twilight fandom. I didn't think that it was possible; you guys proved me wrong and have given me the faith to continue with what I'm doing in regards to all of my fanfiction.

There will be a sequel, I've promised you all that. But it will have to wait until June, because I have a lot in regards to school which I have to get done until then. I won't be abandoning my fanfiction, but I won't have as much time to devote to it as I have in the past, I have my Biology AP exam in about four weeks, and then my diploma in the same subject in just early June. So I have a lot that I need to study.

I will have more updates, I promise. This won't be the last that you'll hear from me!

Thank you all so, SO much!

Twilight.


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